Vijay
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday announced a compensation of Rs 7 lakh each to the families of fishermen who died after their mechanised fishing boat suffered an engine breakdown off the Andhra Pradesh coast. Expressing condolences to the bereaved families, Vijay said an immediate disbursement of Rs 2 lakh would be made to each family. The crew communicated through wireless radio with fishermen aboard another mechanised boat in the early hours of Nov 3, according to a statement issued by the chief minister. They said they left for Ramayapatnam Port on the night of Nov 2 and that their boat’s engine had broken down mid-sea. The bodies of S Mohan, 47, A Murugan, 48, and C Vijayakanth,44, were recovered and identified along the Kothapatnam coast in Prakasam district.
Contact with the vessel was lost after the transmission, and its exact location could not be established.
The chief minister said he had directed officials to expedite the formal identification of two other recovered bodies and intensify the search for the remaining missing fishermen. Three bodies have been identified, while two other bodies have been recovered and are awaiting formal identification. Search operations are continuing for the remaining missing fishermen.