Thick smoke billows from two mechanized fishing boats that caught fire at Kavanadu in Kollam on Friday. | Photo credit: C. Sureshkumar
Two fishing boats were gutted in a major fire that broke out on Ashtamudi Lake on Friday afternoon. Two fishermen suffered minor burns in the incident, with losses estimated at around ₹1 million. The fire broke out when the migrant workers were cooking on board one of the boats in the Palisakkadavu area near Kavanadu. The workers, Raju and Ashok from Andhra Pradesh, suffered burn injuries in the incident. Because they and the other workers immediately jumped off the ship, a major disaster was averted.
However, as the fire appeared to have spread to neighboring boats, the ropes that bound the two burning boats were untied and they were allowed to sail away. However, the fire spread to the nets of a third nearby boat called ‘Divine Mercy’, but workers managed to put it out.
Untied boats sailed away and settled near St. George Thuruthu on the opposite bank of the backwater. After receiving information, Shaktikulangara police and Chamakkada fire and rescue teams reached the spot. Units from fire and rescue stations at Kadappakkada, Chavara, Paravur and Shasthamkotta were also deployed. As the troops were unable to reach the boats caught near the island, attempts were also made to extinguish the fire from other boats. Efforts were subsequently initiated to extinguish the fire by laying pipelines on board the fisheries department’s ships. It took several hours to completely extinguish the fire until the evening.
Published – 21 Nov 2025 21:04 IST
