Bhubaneswar: Days of anxious waiting and intensive maritime search operations ended in profound grief as rescue teams retrieved bodies of nine fishermen trapped inside a capsized trawler that went missing off the West Bengal coast earlier this month, while a frantic search continues for six others who remain untraced.
Among the crew members are three brothers from the Bhograi region in Odisha’s Balasore district – identified as Rabindra Majhi, Jagannath Majhi, and Jayaram Majhi, leaving families in the coastal state waiting in agonising suspense as identification procedures continue.
The deep-sea fishing trawler had set out on July 2 from Shankarpur Fishing Harbour in the East Midnapore district of West Bengal, carrying a crew on an expedition to catch Hilsa fish. While the crew maintained regular radio contact during the first few days, all communication abruptly went blank on July 5, after the vessel reportedly encountered turbulent waves triggered by a low-pressure system forming over the Bay of Bengal.
As days rolled by without a word, worried family members gathered at the harbour every day, urging local administrations and fishermen associations to intercede.
The breakthrough came when local fishermen spotted an overturned vessel near Rakteswari Bali Char area, close to the Chulkathi forest and Bagharchar zone, roughly 100 km away from Digha and 35 km off the Bakkhali coast. A joint team involving Gobardhanpur Police from South 24 Parganas district, the Forest Department (including officials from the Sundarban Tiger Reserve), and the Indian Coast Guard responded to a tip-off from local fishermen.
The damaged, submerged trawler was towed by peer fishing vessels to the Sitarampur jetty in Gobardhanpur, Patharpratima. Upon reaching the shore on Sunday night, rescue crews utilised high-power water pumps and electric lighting rigs to drain the heavily flooded interior of the vessel. Rescuers initially discovered one body near the engine room. As the water levels within the vessel dropped over a gruelling 2-hour operation, eight more bodies were pulled from the hull, bringing the confirmed death toll to nine.
West Bengal’s Sundarban Affairs Minister Bankim Chandra Hazra and senior officials visited the site to oversee operations. The administration has since set up medical and support teams at the jetty.
Because the vessel has not yet been entirely drained, authorities have not definitively ruled out finding more victims inside. However, an active search is simultaneously scanning approximately 50 small, isolated islands and sandbars scattered across the Sundarbans delta.
The administration has strictly alerted border and coastal communities, asking islanders to report any sightings of survivors or washed-up bodies immediately. West Bengal authorities are working closely with the Odisha government to arrange for the formal identification of the deceased once their families reach the area.
Speaking to the media, Bhogaria MLA Goutam Buddha Das said that the families from the state are expected to reach the spot to identify the bodies. “I had visited Shankarpur the day before yesterday and held discussions with the authorities there. I am also in touch with the local MLA, trawler associations of the neighbouring state,” he said.
