Cyclone Ockhi: K Palaniswamy urges Centre to involve navy, coast guard in search operations of missing fishermen

Chennai: Tamil Nadu chief minister K Palaniswamy on Saturday requested Union home minister Rajnath Singh to involve the Indian Navy and Coast Guard helicopters for search and rescue of fishermen caught in mid sea in the wake of cyclone Ockhi. [caption id=“attachment_4238899” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A fisherman is rescued by Indian Coast guard off Kerala coast. Twitter @DefenceMinIndia[/caption] According to a statement issued by the state government, Singh had called Palaniswamy and enquired about the damages suffered due to the Ockhi cyclone. Palaniswamy had requested deployment of helicopters in the search and rescue operations of fishermen who have not returned after they ventured into the sea a couple of days back. Family members of fishermen in Kanyakumari said around 100 boats with several fishers had ventured into sea three days back and have not returned and several boats seem to have capsized due to heavy winds and rains. Meanwhile, DMK working president MK Stalin in a letter to defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said the families of fishermen in Kanyakumari apprehend that about 1,000 fishermen who went for fishing in 100 boats are yet to be located and are stranded in mid-sea. Follow our LIVE updates on Cyclone Ockhi