The Coast Guard is also looking for the missing fishermen. The incident happened after midnight on Sunday. Fifteen boats with fishermen were out at sea and had laid their nets out, when one of the boats was hit by the ship.
Survivors say they suspect the ship was an oil tanker. Fisherman Michael recounts from his Alleppey hospital bed that as soon as the ship hit the boat, lights were switched off on it and the big vessel fled in the darkness. Michael and another fisherman were rescued by their mates on other boats and taken to hospital.
"There was enough space for them to turn the ship away, but they didn't turn away. They collided with us on purpose. On impact, our boat turned over. As a result we all went over and were trapped under the boat. Another fisherman and I were in the water. We were helpless. Due to the grace of God are we safe now," Michael says.
There are contradictory reports on where the hit-and-run happened. The fishermen say their boat, the Dwan-II, had ventured to sea from the Neendakara fishing harbour, but was well within Indian waters. But the Coast Guard is also looking into whether the incident happened in international waters. Along with the Navy and Marine Enforcement, they have also launched a search to spot and identify the ship and find out how exactly the mishap occurred, Alappuzha District Collector Saurav Jain said.
The fishermen who have died were identified by the police as Francis Justine and Xavier.
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