Cyclone Ockhi: Helicopters, ships rush to trace missing fishermen from TN
Chennai: The Centre has rushed helicopters to immediately take up the search and rescue the fishermen who have gone missing from Kanyakumari district in the State. Also, two teams of the NDRF have been deployed to help the district administration.
As of December 2, eight ships and five aircraft belonging to the Indian Navy, eight ships and two aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) besides two aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) are involved in the search and rescue operation along Kerala coast, the Lakshadweep sea and the TN coast.
As the situation went out of control and with the district administration finding it difficult to cope up with large-scale destruction caused by the Cyclone Ochki, Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping Pon Radhakrishnan sought assistance from Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju.
Both the Ministers had assured the Centre's help for the people in the affected areas.
Responding to the call for help, the ICG had pressed nine ships and two Dornier Aircraft off the Kerala and Tamil Nadu coast. About 52 fishermen have been rescued so far. “International Safety Net (ISN) activated to advise Merchant Traffic to render assistance”, ICG tweeted
The Indian Coast Guard ship rescued 15 fishermen at sea off the Vizhinjam - Quilon (Kerala) coast and are heading towards shore for safe disembarkation of fisherfolk.
Mr. Kiren Rijiju informed Mr. Radhakrishnan that two NDRF & Central teams were already working with the local administration for rescue & relief operations around Kanyakumari & other areas. They were also in touch with Lakshadweep administration.
CM orders Rs 25 cr relief for Kanyakumari
Flood relief and restoration work are going on at full swing and three state ministers are on the job to expedite relief work in Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli districts, chief minister Edappadi K. Palaniswamy told reporters in Salem on Saturday. The CM also announced that '25 crore has been allocated for expediting the relief work in cyclone hit Kanyakumari district.
