Chennai: Indian Coast Guard has launched a search to locate the crew of Tamilnadu fishing boat Murugan Thunai that was reported missing off Lakshadweep coast on Saturday night.
The boat, which set sail from Nagapattinam for fishing in the Arabian Sea, was on its way to Bitra Island in Lakshadweep with two other boats to escape heavy rain and winds.
Meanwhile, twenty-three fishermen who set out from the Kerala coast in two separate fishing boats are feared missing, said officials of Fisheries Department.
The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) and the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had warned the fishermen at sea to return to the shore as Cyclone Tauktae was intensifying. However, the officials stated that there has been no communication from the two boats.