8 fishermen missing after 2 boats capsize in Arabian Sea

KARACHI, Pakistan

At least eight fishermen went missing when two fishing boats capsized due to a gust of wind in the Arabian Sea on Saturday, Pakistani authorities said.

The incident took place off the coast of Thatta district, located some 65 kilometers (40.3 miles) from the Pakistani port city of Karachi, the Maritime Security Agency said in a statement.

The maritime personnel rescued eight fishermen, while search is underway to locate and rescue many others, it added.

Two Pakistani navy helicopters also joined the rescuers to find the missing fishermen, Shafqat Qadri, deputy commissioner of Thatta, told reporters.

Kamal Shah, the chairman of Fisher Folk Forum, a non-governmental fishermen association, told Anadolu Agency that the body of one of the missing fishermen was retrieved and brought to the coast.

The two boats, carrying 20 and 16 fishermen respectively, capsized one after another some 20 to 25 nautical miles off Thatta coast, Shah said, contending that the fishermen had ignored warning about the bad weather.

Twenty fishermen, he said, were rescued by another boat, whereas eight of 16 fishermen aboard another ill-fated boat were rescued by the maritime personnel.

Sea accidents are common in the South Asian nuclear country, mainly because of old and ill-equipped boats that lack the technology to specify exact locations and weather conditions.