42-Year-Old Fisherman’s Body Recovered from Muthalapozhi Backwaters

The body of a 42-year-old fisherman, Thomas (Praveen), who fell into the backwaters near the Muthalapozhi fishing harbour in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district, was recovered on Tuesday, officials said.

The fisherman had fallen into the water while returning after fishing in a country boat on Monday evening. According to a coastal police officer, Thomas suffered an epileptic seizure while sitting in the boat, following which he slipped and fell into the backwaters near the harbour in Anchuthengu.

A scuba diving team from the Fire and Rescue Services reached the spot soon after the incident and launched a search operation. The search was suspended during the night and resumed on Tuesday morning, leading to the recovery of his body.

The incident comes as search operations continue for three other fishermen who went missing in separate boat mishaps off the Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram coasts on July 31.

The missing fishermen have been identified as Gautam Krishna, John and Shijin. They went missing following separate incidents at Neendakara in Kollam and Vizhinjam and Muthalapozhi in Thiruvananthapuram.

The search for the three fishermen entered its 12th day on Tuesday, with the Indian Navy, Coastal Police and Marine Enforcement Wing involved in the operations.

Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan and other ministers met the families of the missing fishermen on Monday and took stock of the ongoing search efforts.

Authorities have continued efforts to trace the three missing fishermen as their families await further information on their whereabouts.