Thiruvananthapuram  : The merchant ship suspected to be involved in the collision with a fishing boat off the Kerala coast which killed 2 Indian fishermen has been identified.

Earlier ICGS Savitribai Phule and C 144 of the Coast Guard had located the debris of Don-I – the fishing vessel at about 7:30 AM close to the area of the reported collision.Information accessed from various surveillance systems of Maritime Rescue Coordination Center, Mumbai and other agencies like Kochi Port was analysed to search for the merchant ship involved in the incident.

Two ships from Navy, Naval Dornier aircraft, and a Naval chetak helicopter borne on board INS Sarvekshak participated in the operations from Navy.

Five ships and three aircraft were pressed into service by the Indian Coast Guard. ICGS Savitribai Phule, ICGS Lakshmibai, C 144, and INS Kabra are continuing the operation through the night. Naval and Coast Guard aircraft also joined the  search.