Karwar (Karnataka), Oct 31 (SocialNews.XYZ) Two fishermen from Odisha died after allegedly inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning the cold storage compartment of a fishing boat at Mudaga fishing harbour in Karwar taluk and district, officials said on Saturday.
Another fisherman was seriously taken ill and admitted to hospital, while two others were safely rescued following the incident.
The tragedy occurred on the ‘Mookambika’ fishing boat, which is based in Belekeri. The boat had returned to Mudaga harbour after the fishermen caught Chaman fish.
After reaching the harbour, the fishermen reportedly unloaded the catch from the boat’s storage compartment and began cleaning the cold storage unit.
Purandar Bisara, 21, and Akash Naik, 24, both natives of Odisha, were trapped in the toxic environment and died on the spot, according to reports.
Another fisherman, Lalindar Dhruva, 41, was seriously affected by the fumes. He was immediately shifted to the Karwar Institute of Medical Sciences (KRIMS) Hospital, where he is undergoing emergency treatment.
Two other fishermen involved in the incident were rescued safely.
During the cleaning operation, toxic fumes and a strong foul odour allegedly emanated from the compartment, causing the fishermen to suffocate.
The incident has raised concerns over the safety of fishermen handling and cleaning storage compartments after fishing operations, particularly following the accumulation of toxic gases and foul odours inside enclosed spaces.
The tragedy comes just three days after a similar incident at Tadadi harbour in Kumta taluk of Karwar district, where three fishermen lost their lives after being exposed to toxic fumes and a strong foul odour allegedly emanating from Chaman fish.
The three fishermen were cleaning a fishing boat and were asphyxiated to death after inhaling poisonous fumes emanating from rotten fish inside the boat on Tuesday evening.
The three fishermen, all from Kumta taluk -- Naushad Ali Raja (35) from Kagal village, Aman Ayub Langadu from Onhalli and Amir Abdul from Unchalli -- died on Tuesday evening after getting into a purse seine boat ‘Khuzaina’, owned by Khasim from Vanhalli, also in Kumta taluk.
“They had gone towards Goa where they caught a fish variety called chaman, which gets spoilt within 24 hours. The catch was big, but their arrival at the Tadadi port was delayed by a day. By then, the entire lot was spoilt,” said Gokarna police.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz