Over 35 trawlers with 200 people aboard missing off Goa coast

PANAJI: More than 35 trawlers carrying 200 crew members from Goa have been missing after gusty winds lashed the western coast during last two days.

Fishermen at Malim jetty, located across Mandovi river next to Panaji, said more than 28 trawlers have not returned and lost their contact with the base.

"There can be more than 28 trawlers. What I am telling you is the figure available at this time," Menino Afonso, chairman, Mandovi Fisheries Co-operative Society, said

Each trawler carries about six crew members, he said, adding that the attempt to contact these trawlers have turned futile.

"There is a possibility that they must have been dragged away from Goa state waters and ventured in Malwan (Maharashtra)," Afonso said.

Indian Coast Guard, which has initiated search and rescue operations, has said that they are flooded with the complaints of missing people since yesterday.

"An aircraft has been commissioned in search and rescue operation," Commandant AK Saxena, Indian Coast Guard, said.

Besides Mallim jetty, two trawlers from Cutbona jetty in south Goa and four from Betul jetty are also reported missing.