Kollam: Two fishermen went missing after a fishing boat capsized following a collision with a cargo vessel in the Arabian Sea off the Kanyakumari coast on Saturday morning. The accident occurred around 11am, about 102 nautical miles from Shakthikulangara harbour. Nine fishermen who fell into the sea were rescued by crew members of the Vietnamese vessel involved in the collision. The fishing boat, St Joseph, owned by Rajesh Mathew of Shakthikulangara, had left the harbour for fishing on Friday afternoon with 11 workers on board.According to coastal police, the boat collided with the Vietnamese vessel Panama, which was anchored in the area and was scheduled to arrive at Kochi port. The impact completely destroyed the fishing boat, causing it to sink.All the workers on board fell into the sea. Crew members of the Vietnamese vessel immediately initiated rescue operations and managed to save nine fishermen. “Efforts are on to trace the two missing workers,” a coastal police officer said. The rescued fishermen, who are from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, were shifted to a hospital in Kanyakumari.Coast Guard has launched a search operation to trace the two missing workers. Kollam coastal police have begun an investigation into the incident. The vessel is being brought to Kochi port as part of the probe.The district administration said that the boat owner had informed authorities about the incident and that efforts are under way to collect details of the survivors and the missing persons. “We are in touch with the nodal administration in Kanyakumari, and they have informed us that search efforts for the missing persons are under way. We expect to receive details of the survivors and the missing persons by Sunday,” an official at the Kollam collectorate said.
