By IANS,
Kakdwip (West Bengal) : Five more bodies were fished out Wednesday from the Muriganga river, taking the death count in the West Bengal trawler tragedy to 81, an official said. A total of 72 people are still untraced.
“Five more bodies were found today (Wednesday). The number of deaths is now 81. The search operation is still on,” South 24-Parganas District Magistrate N.S. Nigam told IANS over phone.
The trawler ferrying 246 people, mainly Muslim pilgrims, to Kakdwip in South 24-Parganas from Hijli Sharif in East Midnapore district, capsized Saturday morning.
The accident occurred near Ghoramara Island, about 150 km south of Kolkata, in the mouth of the Muriganga river where it empties into the Bay of Bengal. Ninety three people have been rescued so far.
“We have also located the place where the trawler sank, but we cannot recover it because all the security personnel are engaged in search operation,” added the police officer.
The search operation involved divers from the Indian Navy, the Coast Guard and the Kolkata Port Trust.
A helicopter and a hovercraft have also been deployed.