Reports said Bhaskar Dhanur, Laxman Tandel, Ravindra Meher, Ashok Dhanur and Abbas Babu had set out to catch fish around 6 am in the Walkeshwar-Raj Bhavan stretch. Around 11 am huge waves began lashing their boat. The boat being quite small and weak was being tossed around like a toy. Soon the waves broke the two-cylinder mechanised boat into two halves.

Tandel said while Bhaskur Dhanur, Laxman Tandel, Ravindra Meher and Ashok Dhanur managed to keep themselves afloat for over two hours till they were rescued, 35-year-old Abbas is feared drowned. The rescue boat, Ashwini Prasad, did makeefforts to search for Abbas but was unsuccessful.

Subsequently, the surviving fishermen and one Parshuram Meher informed the Cuffe Parade and the Yellow Gate police stations about the mishap. The police in turn informed the Navy around 12.35 pm. Within 10 minutes a Naval rescue team took off in a `Chetak' from the INS Kunjali helibase.

``We searched for more than one-and-a-half hours and went out seaward upto six miles as the tide was ebbing. But the search did not yield any success,'' a senior Naval officer told Express Newsline. The Navy had also pressed into service two port defence boats. The entire operation lasted for over two and half hours. The Navy is likely to commence search and rescue operation once again with the first light tomorrow morning, the official assured.

The boat owner, Kashinath Bala Dhanur, said he has suffered a loss of Rs 2 lakh. However, Tandel assured that they will make an appeal to the central and state governments to sanction a loan to him to buy another boat.