Boat hits rock near Malpe; stranded fishermen rescued by Coast Guard

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Sep 6,2016:As many as seven fishermen who were  stranded on a rock mid-sea following a mishap wherein their boat rammed against a rock, were rescued by the Coast Guards near the St Mary’s Island at Malpe  during the early hours of September 6, Tuesday. The fishing boat costing nearly Rs 40 lakhs as well as the fish catch worth Rs 7 lakhs were   destroyed in the mishap.

The fishing boat named Gopisagar was on its return journey after a eight day fishing expedition when the mishap took place on September 5, Monday night. As soon as the boat hit the rock, the fishermen jumped out of the boat and swam towards a nearby rock.

The fishermen who were in no position to send a distress message were finally relieved after they spotted  a fishing boat of Keshav Kunder in the morning. Those on the boat duly passed on the information to Coast Guards who swung into action and  used small boats to reach the spot where  the fishermen were stranded and brought them ashore.

The fishermen who have been rescued namely Manjunath, Santosh, Jagadish Bhat, Vasu Naik, Subbayya, Vasudeva and Panduranga are being treated at the District Hospital. District in-charge Minister Pramod Madhwaraj visited the hospital and enquired about the health of the rescued fishermen.