Nilam: 3 bodies believed to be of sailors washed ashore

As efforts continued for the third day to trace five missing crew of an oil tanker that ran aground off the city beach hours before cyclone 'Nilam' made landfall, three bodies, believed to be of sailors, were found washed ashore on Friday. The bodies were recovered from Marina beach and Napier Bridge along the coast on Friday morning by Coast Guard personnel, senior Chennai Port Trust officials told PTI, adding that the process of identification was on.

Efforts were mounted by Coast Guard, Navy and Tamil Nadu Police to locate the missing persons from the 26,000 DWT tanker 'Pratibha Cauvery', belonging to Mumbai-based Pratibha Shipping Company. The five went missing after their lifeboat capsized in choppy waters while 16 were rescued by local fishermen and one drowned on Wednesday.

Fifteen sailors were on Thursday rescued from the ship, which had a crew of 37 on board. Chennai Port Trust Chairman Atulya Mishra has announced that the DG Shipping would investigate the incident which occurred after the ship was asked to move to high seas on October 30 as a precautionary measure in view of the cyclone. An emergency tow vehicle is on its way here from Mumbai to salvage the ship.