Cyclone Ockhi: Over 500 fishermen rescued, death toll 22

Thiruvananthapuram/Chennai: More than 500 fishermen stranded in the rough sea off Kerala and Lakshadweep coasts have been rescued even as cyclone ‘Ockhi’ on Saturday lay centered over the South East Arabian Sea and about 250 km near Amini Divi in the Lakshadweep Islands.

The death toll rose to 22 in Kerala and Tamil Nadu with the recovery of fresh bodies, officials said. The state government decided to urge the Centre to declare Cyclone Ockhi, which left a trail of destruction in the state, a national calamity.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan entrusted chief secretary K.M. Abraham with the task of preparing a memorandum in this regard, chief minister office (CMO) sources said.

Meanwhile, a fresh spell of heavy rain is in store in some areas of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Puducherry with a low pressure area forming over south Andaman sea, which is “very likely” to become a depression over the Bay of Bengal. The system is likely to move towards Tamil Nadu and south Andhra Pradesh in the next three to four days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

With ‘Ockhi’ wreaking havoc in South Tamil Nadu, the Tamil Nadu government said it will soon seek Central funds for the damage caused by the cyclone.

This was conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by chief minister K. Palaniswami during a telephone conversation between the two leaders on Friday night, a state government release said.

Mr Palaniswami also discussed the situation with Union home minister Rajnath Singh. He told Mr Singh that Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli had suffered the worst damage, and detailed the relief work being carried out in “full swing” there, a release said. The state government requested the Centre to deploy helicopters of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard to search and rescue missing fishermen.