Missing Trawler Found Capsized: Nine Bodies Recovered, Six Missing Off Bengal Coast
In a tragic turn of events, nine bodies have been recovered from a fishing trawler that went missing off the West Bengal coast nearly ten days ago. The vessel, named Joy Maa Kali, carried 15 fishermen, of whom six remain untraceable.
The trawler departed from Shankarpur in Purba Medinipur district on July 2. Contact was lost until July 8, when the crew issued a distress call reporting engine failure. Despite alerts to other fishermen, the boat could not be located. It was eventually found in the Bakkhali area of South 24 Parganas on Sunday, capsized in a marshy mangrove forest in the Sundarbans.
Joy Krishna Haldar, general secretary of the United Fishermen Association of West Bengal, confirmed the recovery and noted that the trawler had drifted far from its starting point. Sources indicated that the sea was turbulent due to adverse weather and heavy rain over the past two weeks.
A multi-agency search operation involving the Coast Guard, Indian Navy, West Bengal Police, fire and forest departments, and local fishermen continues. The nine decomposed bodies have been sent to Kakdwip Sub-Divisional Hospital for post-mortem.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences on social media, calling the incident "extremely heartbreaking." He announced an ex gratia of ₹2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the families of the deceased.
Superintendent of Police, Sundarban Police District, Biswa Chand Thakur confirmed that prima facie the trawler carried 15 fishermen and capsized about a week ago. Sundarbans Affairs Minister Dipankar Jana visited the spot to oversee rescue operations and assured financial assistance from the state government to affected families.
