Bodies of 9 fishermen recovered from sunken trawler in Bay of Bengal

3 min readUpdated: Jul 13, 2026 09:42 PM IST

The ill-fated trawler has been identified as 'FB Maa Kali'. (Representative image)

Police in South 24 Parganas district have recovered the bodies of nine fishermen from a trawler that capsized in the Bay of Bengal near the Sundarbans earlier this month.

Teams from Gobardhanpur police station, along with the forest department and the Indian Coast Guard, identified a sunken trawler near the Raktachara area on Sunday.

The trawler was later salvaged and brought to Sitarampur in Gobardhanpur, where nine bodies were recovered from it. There were 15 people aboard the trailer; the six others remain missing.

The ill-fated trawler has been identified as ‘FB Maa Kali’.

On July 2, the trawler with 15 fishermen had set out to sea from the Digha Shankarpur fishing harbour in Purba Medinipur district. Due to adverse weather conditions, the trawler got lost at sea a few days ago, and had been untraceable since then.

“Contact with the trawler was lost on July 5. After a continuous eight-day search, the trawler was recovered near Bagherchar, about 35 kilometers off the Bakkhali coast. Upon searching the trawler, the police recovered the bodies of the fishermen,” said a local police officer at the coastal police outpost.

“Furthermore, it was impossible to establish any contact with the 15 fishermen aboard this trawler. Consequently, the matter was reported to the local fishermen’s association, the police, and the Coast Guard. A joint search operation was then launched across various parts of the river and the sea. After an extensive search, the trawler was spotted submerged in the deep sea,” said the officer.

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Arriving at the spot, Minister of State for Sundarban Affairs, Dipankar Jana, said, “This is an extremely tragic incident. I informed the Chief Minister about the news, and I have come here on his instructions. The rescue operation is underway. A total of nine bodies have been found. The bodies of some fishermen might still be trapped inside the trawler. I offer my condolences to the families of the deceased.”

The recovered bodies have been sent to the Kakdwip Sub-divisional Hospital for post-mortem examination. The joint search operations continued Monday to locate the six missing fishermen. Police, however, suspect the death toll to rise.

PM announces ex gratia

The Prime Minister’s Office on Monday announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of each deceased. The PMO posted on X: “The loss of lives due to the boat capsize in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal is extremely painful. My condolences to the bereaved families. I wish the injured a speedy recovery. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund will be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured will be given Rs 50,000 each: Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

The loss of lives due to the capsizing of a boat in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal is deeply painful. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. May the injured recover at the earliest.

An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given…

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 13, 2026

পশ্চিমবঙ্গের দক্ষিণ ২৪ পরগনা জেলায় নৌকাডুবিতে প্রাণহানির ঘটনা অত্যন্ত বেদনাদায়ক। শোকসন্তপ্ত পরিবারগুলিকে জানাই সমবেদনা। আহতদের দ্রুত আরোগ্য কামনা করি।

প্রধানমন্ত্রীর জাতীয় ত্রাণ তহবিল থেকে প্রত্যেক মৃতের নিকটাত্মীয়কে ২ লক্ষ টাকা অনুদান দেওয়া হবে। আহতদের দেওয়া হবে ৫০,০০০…

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 13, 2026

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Sweety Kumari is a seasoned journalist reporting from West Bengal for The Indian Express. With over a decade of experience in the media industry and eight years specifically with The Indian Express, she demonstrates considerable Expertise and Authority across a diverse range of critical beats.

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