By IANS
Jagatsinghpur : Indian Coast Guard personnel Friday rescued at least 28 Thai fishermen off the Orissa coast after their fishing vessels capsized.
The Thai nationals, travelling in two fishing vessels, had earlier contacted officials at the Paradeep port, seeking shelter due to rough sea conditions triggered by a deep depression over Bay of Bengal, said Bikrant Parasar, commander of the Paradeep port coast guard.
Both the vessels, carrying a total 36 people, capsized when they were on their way to Paradeep fishing harbour, Parasar told IANS.
Coast guard personnel and the police rescued 28 of them and operations are on to locate the eight missing fishermen, he said. Those rescued have been admitted to a hospital in Paradeep in Jagatsinghpur district, over 100 km from Bhubaneswar.
The depression that crossed Orissa coast early Friday has triggered heavy rains across Orissa. Overnight rain accompanied by gusty winds damaged hundreds of mud houses, uprooted trees and disrupted road traffic at certain places in Orissa's coastal and southern districts, a state official said.
According to meteorological officials, rain and thundershowers are likely at many places in the next 24 hours. Strong winds are also likely to prevail along the coastal areas and fishermen have been advised not to venture out to sea.