As many as 10 fishermen had a close shave as their fishing trawler caught fire in sea near the Wheeler Island better known as Abdul Kalam Island off the Odisha coast in Bhadrak district, on Thursday morning.

Fishery department official sources said: “The incident took place while they were fishing in the mid-sea, about 12 nautical miles from the Dhamara fishing harbour. All the crew members of the Maa Padamabati have been rescued by members of other boats who were also catching fish in the deep sea.”

Soon after the incident, marine police reached the spot and started an investigation.

Owner of the trawler Samresh Parida told The Telegraph, “On Wednesday evening, the 55-feet long and 18-feet wide fishing trawler left for the deep sea on a fishing mission. They anchored near the Wheeler Island.

“As per usual practice, a trawler returns after spending five days fishing in the deep sea. Around 2am on Thursday the fishermen cast their net. In the morning, all of them came to the upper part of the trawler with no one manning the engine. Perhaps, a short circuit from the engine had led to the outbreak of the fire. As the smoke billowed out and flames leapt up the fishermen occupying the trawler jumped off the boat. All of them have been rescued. The boat capsised in the sea.”

“The trawler had nearly 2,000 litres of diesel and a few gas cylinders. All these things aggravated the situation. The fire immediately spread,” he said, adding that all the fishermen in the trawler are on their way back to the Dhamara harbour. “Let them return, we will have a clear view of how the accident took place,” he said.

The trawler owner said that the accident had left him financially ruined though he refused to confirm whether the trawler had been insured or not.

Immersion mishap

The body of a 22-year-old man, who went missing during the immersion of Durga Puja idols in Salandi river in Bhadrak district, was found on Friday, police said, reports PTI.

Two men were swept away in the river on Thursday night during the immersion, they said. While one of them was rescued by villagers immediately, the other person could not be found. Rescue teams of ODRAF and fire services found his body on Friday.