Divers recover bodies of three more victims of fishing boat capsizing in Laccadive Sea off India

Indian Navy divers have recovered the bodies of three more individuals who perished after their fishing vessel capsized and sank following a collision in the Laccadive Sea west of New Mangalore early last week.

The recovery of the three fishermen’s remains is part of an ongoing search effort by the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard in the aftermath of the collision between the locally-registered fishing vessel Rabah and the Singaporean-flagged containership APL Le Havre on April 13.

Divers deployed by the navy’s dive support vessel (DSV) INS Nireekshak were searching through the waters where the incident occurred when they located the three deceased fishermen on Friday, April 16. The bodies were handed over to authorities in New Mangalore the following day.

Navy officials said the bodies of Rabah‘s six remaining crew are believed to still be inside the wrecked vessel, which currently lies at a depth of approximately 130 metres.

The confirmed death toll from the incident has been raised to six following the three recoveries on Friday.

Three other crewmen had been found unresponsive in the same waters hours after the capsizing. They were all later pronounced deceased on-site by responding coast guard search and rescue (SAR) teams.