Families plead for government intervention to trace two missing fishermen in Bahrain

Families of missing fishermen from Kadiapattinam seek government help after two years of no information.

The families of two missing fishermen, M. Sahaya Selso and G. Antony George Vincent from Kadiapattinam in Kanniyakumari district, have urged the Union and State governments to locate their relatives.

The two fishermen were reported missing after venturing into sea on September 17, 2022 from Muharraq harbour in Bahrain. Since then, there has been no information about them.

Arockia Suba, wife of Mr. Selso, said that her husband had returned to Bahrain in November 2020 after a brief period in India. Meanwhile, Subi Rose, wife of Mr. Vincent, said her husband had left for Bahrain in 2022 and within six months of his departure, he went missing.

Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, both families said that Selso and Vincent had been in regular contact with their families before their disappearance. The fishermen ventured into sea on September 17, 2022 and there were no updates since then. When the families reached out to other workers and their relatives in Bahrain, it came to light that the country boat owner had filed a complaint only about the missing boat with no mention of the fishermen.

Since the incident, the families of the fishermen have been filing petitions with the Union Ministry of External Affairs, MPs and MLAs and the district administration. However, they claim that no action has been taken over the past two years.

Ms. Subha said, “ We are struggling everyday as we have no clue whether they are alive or detained somewhere.” She further added that she and Ms. Rose were finding it extremely difficult to meet the daily needs in their life as both had two children to care for.

The families urged the Union and State government to intervene immediately. They pleaded, “ At the very least we need to know what happened to our husbands.”