Indian Coast Guard evacuates rescued Indian fishers from Vietnam-flagged merchant ship off TN’s Colachel

Indian Coast Guard ship Anagh met the Vietnam-flagged ship MS Solis off the coast of Tamil Nadu in the early hours of Sunday, March 8, 2026, and evacuated nine Indian fishermen who were rescued from the sea by the crew of the merchant ship following the collision on Saturday, March 7, 2026.

The Coast Guard ship docked at Vizhinjam port in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Emergency response teams took the rescued fishermen to the State Medical Faculty for intensive care.

According to police, at least two of the fishermen were seriously injured in the mid-sea collision.

According to Kerala police, the St Joseph fishing boat had sailed from Shakthikulangara Port in Kollam late on Friday, March 6, 2026. They said there were 11 fishermen on board, including five from neighboring Tamil Nadu and the rest from West Bengal.

According to the police, the collision occurred in the early hours of Saturday, March 7, 2026, when the fishing boat was anchored at sea; The crew did not realize they were parked in the middle of a busy international shipping lane off the coast of Colachel in Tamil Nadu.

Following the impact, the ship’s crew launched a lifeboat and rescued nine fishermen from the choppy waters. Police said at least two fishermen were still missing. The fishing boat belonging to Rajesh Mathew of Sakthikulangara was completely destroyed in the collision.