A search is on for the two Indian fishermen who went missing in Bahrain following a boat accident at sea, even as the body of one their colleagues was found.

More than 15 boats joined a coastguard helicopter on Wednesday, in the hunt for the two men from Kerala who went missing on Tuesday, media reports said.

Many fishermen have also joined the owner of the ill-fated fishing boat in the hunt for two of his workers. The body of one of the fisherman, V T K Abdulla, 45, was recovered one hour after the accident, but two others, M K Yousif and P K Majeed, were still missing.

"We are all in a state of shock; all the three were like my family members," boat owner Ghazi Mohammed Al Dossary was quoted by the Gulf Daily News.

"The boat was running at high speed and it lost control when a steering cable snapped, throwing all three into the sea about three kilometres off the Hawar Islands," he added.