Two Keralites among those missing in boat mishap in Mozambique: MLA Anoop Jacob

Kochi, Oct 18 (PTI) Indrajith, a native of Piravom in Ernakulam district, is one of the two people from Kerala reported missing in a boat accident off the coast of Beira in Mozambique, UDF MLA Anoop Jacob said on Saturday.

Jacob, the MLA from Piravom constituency said that he contacted the port authorities in Mozambique and the Indian Embassy there and they assured him that all possible efforts were being made to search for those missing.

He also said that the authorities there informed him that search operations were stopped for the day due to bad weather and will resume on Sunday morning.

Jacob said that he has communicated to the authorities in Mozambique the family's demand to intensify the search operations.

Indrajith (22) worked for a Sharjah based shipping company, which he joined last year, along with his father.

On Thursday, he and several others were transported to a vessel on the high seas by boat for maintenance work on the ship, Jacob said.

The trip took double the time it usually does due to bad weather conditions and while the workers were boarding the ship, the boat they were on capsized in the huge waves and many onboard died, the MLA said citing the information he received from the authorities in that country.

Besides Indrajith, a Kollam-native was also missing in the incident, the MLA said.

The launch boat carrying crew members of a tanker, including 14 Indian nationals, capsized during crew transfer operations off Beira port in central Mozambique, the High Commission had said in a press release on Friday.

Three Indian nationals were killed, one was injured, and five others were rescued, it had said. PTI HMP HMP ROH