Chennai: Rescue and search operations yielded the body of yet another sailor, who had gone missing along with four others after cyclone Nilam wrecked their life boat off the Chennai coast. Early on Friday morning, the body of another was found, thus bringing the tally of those still missing down to three.
Search operations are still on. The bodies of the two sailors have been sent to a government hospital in Chennai for identification. The five sailors went missing after their life boat capsized in choppy waters while 16 were rescued by local fishermen and one drowned.
The sailors were a part of the crew of oil tanker 'Pratibha Cauvery' that drifted in high velocity winds before it ran aground near the Eliotts Beach in South Chennai on Wednesday. The ship had a crew of 37 on board.
Two helicopters and three ships have been pressed into service for rescue operations. Chennai Port Trust Chairman Atulya Mishra announced that the DG Shipping would investigate the incident which occurred after the ship was asked to move to the high sea on October 30 as a precautionary measure in view of the cyclone.
To a query, Shipping Minister GK Vasan said that there was no possibility of any oil leakage from the 26,000 DWT tanker carrying two tonnes of high diesel and 356 tonne of furnace oil. Vasan also visited the hospital where the rescued sailors were being treated. They might be discharged in a day or two.
Comments
0 comment