A major tragedy happened off the coast of West Bengal after the bodies of nine fishermen were found in a sunken fishing trawler in the Bay of Bengal with six others missing.
The trawler, Ma Kali, had left Shankarpur fishing harbour at Digha, East Midnapore, on 2 July for a fishing trip. Contact with the vessel was lost after 5 July, and an extensive search was conducted by the Indian Coast Guard, local police, Forest Department and fishermen from the area.
After eight days of searching, the submerged trawler was found near Bagherchar, about 35 kilometres off the Bakkhali coast in South 24 Parganas.
People from Govardhanpur Police Station, Forest Department and Indian Coast Guard identified the vessel on Sunday afternoon and recovered it and towed it to Sitarampur in Govardhanpur with the help of several fishing trawlers deployed by the local fishermen's association.
So rescue teams worked through the night to search the vessel and found nine fishermen trapped inside the trawler, eventually finding the bodies of nine fishermen trapped in the trawler’s belly.
South 24 Parganas, West Bengal - Nine fishermen were found dead after their trawler sank in the Bay of Bengal, police from Gobardhanpur Police Station in South 24 Parganas, along with officials of the Forest Department and the Indian Coast Guard, located the submerged trawler… pic.twitter.com/Zi9Np0TkMT
— NextMinute News (@nextminutenews7) July 13, 2026
According to officials, 15 fishermen were on board when the vessel met with the accident, with six crew members missing. If the missing fishermen are not found alive, the death toll could go up further, authorities fear.
Recovered bodies will be sent to Kakdwip Sub-Divisional Hospital for post-mortem examination as investigators probe the reasons for the tragedy.
Based on preliminary information, the administration suspects the trawler might have capsized during rough weather in the Bay of Bengal. It also believes some of the fishermen may have been thrown into the sea and others were trapped inside the vessel as it sank.
As soon as news of the incident came, the Ma Kali owners went from Shankarpur to Kakdwip and Namkhana to coordinate with the authorities and monitor the rescue efforts. Local fishermen also joined the operation and deployed several trawlers to find and recover the damaged vessel.
West Bengal's Minister for Sundarbans Development, Dipankar Jana, visited the site after being instructed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and described the incident as a heartbreaking tragedy.
"It’s a tragic incident. I informed the Chief Minister as soon as I got the news. I then came here on her instructions. Rescue operations are being done. There are nine bodies recovered. The bodies of some fishermen may still be trapped inside the trawler. My condolences go to the families of the deceased," Jana said.
Search efforts resumed on Monday with teams from the Indian Coast Guard, local administration and disaster response agencies continuing to comb the surrounding waters in the hope of finding the remaining missing fishermen.
It has once again brought home to the fishermen the dangers of fishing in the Bay of Bengal and how dangerous it is to work there at times with very unpredictable weather and rough sea conditions. As the search continues for missing fishermen, families of the fishermen wait for news and authorities are still searching for the missing fishermen to find the cause of the accident.
