The bodies of at least eight fishermen were recovered from the sea on Monday, after their boat, Al-Rahman, overturned due to strong currents after leaving Ibrahim Hyderi village on Sunday.
The boat was carrying 25 fishermen from Ibrahim Hyderi and another 12 from Malir’s Khair Mohammad Khaskheli village. At least 15 fishermen have been rescued, while search for the remaining 15 was underway. The boat’s captain, Ahmed, and owner, Omar, were among the survivors.
The dead were identified as Shakoor, Sadiq Khaskheli, Shams Alam, Hussain, Hameedullah, Yasin, Bilal and Ismail Yousuf.
As news about the incident spread the village, residents went out to sea in the dark to look for survivors, but reportedly came back without finding anyone. The survivors said that they had been rescued by fishermen who were returning from the sea after work. “The boat overturned after it was hit by a big wave. We were lucky that other boats were also in the area, and they rescued us,” said Habib.
The fishermen, meanwhile, alleged that they did not receive any help from the Coast Guard or the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) despite having informed them of the tragedy. They said that they found the eight bodies, which were trapped in the fishing net, as they embarked on their own rescue mission.
Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum’s media coordinator Sami Memon said that the MSA had sent only one boat to look for the missing fishermen, but it returned without finding anyone. “Only one ambulance and a lone police mobile reached the area after the incident,” he lamented. He also criticised the government for not establishing a rescue camp in the area.
MSA spokesman Commander Mohammad Farooq, however, condemned the fishermen’s allegations and said that the MSA had requested a navy helicopter for the rescue operation. “We had sent a ship there but it couldn’t [navigate] due to the high number of creeks there. We are now using small boats.”
Docks SHO Madad Ali Zardari said that the search operation was for the missing fishermen was underway, and added that there was no need for a case to be registered as the boat had capsized due to an accident.
Family torn apart
Among the passengers on the boat were five brothers and two nephews. Bodies of three brothers, Shakoor, Hameed and Hussain, have been fished out, while the whereabouts about the remaining are still not known. Abdul Mana, a father of nine children, was also among the missing fishermen.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 11th, 2012.
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