Thiruvananthapuram: The Latin Catholic Church has decided to move the High Court against the state government’s failure to find the fishermen missing in the sea following cyclone Ockhi. The Church has demanded the setting up of a judicial commission to probe the officials’ failure to ensure timely rescue operations. Vicar-General of the Archdiocese Fr Eugene H. Pereira said that the Church would file a habeas corpus petition to locate the missing persons. It said the government has not found the missing people even after over two weeks now. “We have no option but to seek legal recourse,” Pereira told reporters here on Friday.
The decision came as there was a mismatch between the Church’s estimates and that of the government, he said. While the government had estimated that 146 persons were missing, the estimate of the Church was that 241 fishermen from Thiruvananthapuram alone had not returned home. The Church had been pressuring the government to intensify the search to rescue the survivors and recover the bodies of those who might have died in the cyclone.
The revenue department earlier this week had pointed out that FIRs had been filed about 146 missing persons. A separate list of 34 persons had also been prepared. As many as 70 bodies were recovered from the sea. Archbishop M Soosapakiam had held two meetings with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan demanding steps for tracing the fishermen.
DNA test helps to identify one more body
One more body recovered from sea following Ockhi cyclone was identified through DNA test at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College here on Friday.
The body was identified Alexander, 35, son of Vincent of South Kollamcode, Pozhiyoor. The body kept at the mortuary was received by relatives. Till date nineteen bodies of fishermen had been brought to the hospital while one person had died in hospital. Of these seven bodies are yet to be identified. Three bodies each are kept at the medical college and Sri Chitra institute mortuaries and one is at the general hospital mortuary.
Thomas David, 32, of Poonthura was discharged from medical college hospital while five others are still under treatment. Micheal, 42, of Poonthura is continuing in a critical condition though there is slight improvement. 200 fishermen who were stranded in sea after Ockhi cyclone returned in 20 boats in Kochi. Fourteen boats are yet to return. Of the nine bodies recovered from Kochi, three have been identified and the rest are kept at Ernakulam general hospital, Trippunithura and Aluva government hospitals respectively.
