Nine bodies have been recovered from a trawler that disappeared off the Bengal coast; six fishermen are missing

This image is for representational purposes only. | Photo credit: The Hindu

Nine bodies have been recovered from a fishing trawler that went missing off the coast of West Bengal nearly 10 days ago. There were about 15 people on board, six of whom are still untraceable.

The vessel named Joy Maa Kali sailed from Shankarpur in Purba Medinipur district and was recovered from Sundarbans South 24 Parganas area on Sunday (July 12, 2026).

“They left the coast on July 2 and there was no contact with them after that. They were contacted on July 8 when they made a distress call saying their engine was not working and asked for help. Other fishermen were informed but no one could find them. They were finally found in the Bakkhali area, far from where they started,” said Joy Krishna Haldar, general secretary of the United Fishermen Association. He said the boat turned into a turtle in the swampy mangrove forest.

Sources said the fishermen in the trawler were from Digha, Nadia, Howrah, East Medinipur in West Bengal and Odisha. They said the sea has been rough for the past two weeks due to adverse weather conditions and heavy rain.

Coast Guard, Indian Navy, West Bengal Police, State Fire and Forest Department and other fishermen are conducting search operations. The nine decomposed bodies were sent to Kakdwip sub-divisional hospital for post-mortem.

“The incident of boat capsizing in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal which claimed lives is extremely heartbreaking. My condolences to the bereaved families. I wish the injured a speedy recovery,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on social media. He announced a compensation of ₹2,000 each for the families of the deceased from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.

“Prima facie, the trawler was carrying 15 fishermen. It capsized about a week ago. The bodies of nine fishermen were recovered today. The rest are still missing. The rescue operation is on,” Superintendent of Police, Sundarban Police District, Biswa Chand Thakur said.

Sundarbans Affairs Minister Dipankar Jana visited the site on Sunday to oversee the rescue operations. “The state government will stand by the families of the deceased fishermen and financial assistance will be provided to the affected families,” he said.

Published – 13 Jul 2026 23:10 IST