Two fishermen feared drowned in South Mumbai

Mumbai: Two fishermen are feared drowned off Girgaon Chowpatty after their boat capsized on Monday morning. The incident was reported at 9.30 am when the two fishermen were spotted drowning near the shore, with their boat toppled, and the Coast Guard was also immediately alerted by the local police.

The coast guard’s public relation officer (PRO) told The Asian Age, “A chopper that was launched for their rescue did not find any boat or drowning persons during the 2.5 hours of the rescue operation.” The police officials, who are probing the case, said that after they got a distress call at 9.45am, they reached the spot immediately, but saw nothing on the beach front. They then alerted the coast guard who launched a HELO chopper for the rescue operation and was searching for about two and half hours.

The senior police inspector of D.B. Marg police station Pandurang Shinde told The Asian Age, “We initiated the search operation, but neither found the capsized boat nor the two fishermen. We do not even know the identities of the two fishermen who are feared drowned.”

The coast guard’s PRO of North West Region, Varun Augustya said, “The helicopter couldn’t locate the two fishermen during the rescue operation, but the operation has not stopped. But according to the distress call, the two men were sighted drowning close to the shore, so it is also a possibility that they might have swam ashore and left with their boat, but nothing can be ruled out right now.”

The police is suspecting that either the two fishermen drowned or swam and left the beach because if the boat capsized, the officials would have found it.