Search ops for missing fishermen still on
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/KOCHI: Search and rescue operations to trace the fishermen missing in the aftermath of Ockhi cyclone continued for 10th day on Sunday even as 67 people caught in the storm, returned to Kochi coast.
An Indian Air Force (IAF) transport aircraft covered 10,880 square nautical miles south of Kanyakumari coast in the Indian ocean, a defence spokesperson said. Another AN-32 aircraft conducted search and rescue operations.
Meanwhile, the Latin Catholic Church in Thiruvananthapuram district, to which most of the cyclone-hit fishermen belonged, observed a ‘prayer-day’ and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit the affected coastal belt to take stock of the situation.
A message, read out during prayer in the churches, said the cyclone should be declared as a national disaster and centre should provide more funds for rehabilitation of the victims.
The community members would hold a march to Raj Bhavan here tomorrow to press for its charter of demands.
As per the Church, more than 300 fishermen were still missing.
According to reports from Kochi, as many as 67 fishermen who had gone to high seas for fishing and caught in the cyclone, returned to the shore.
Out of 67 fishermen, 49 are from Tamil Nadu, 13 from Kerala, four from Assam and one from Andhra Pradesh, they said.
On saturday, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had submitted a memorandum to Union home minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi, seeking financial assistance of ₹1,834 crore in view of the loss suffered by the state due to the cyclone.