INS Nireekshak continues underwater search for 6 missing fishermen off Mangaluru coast
New Delhi, Apr 17: Indian Naval Ship (INS) Nireekshak continued its underwater search on Saturday to find six fishermen who have been missing since their boat collided with a foreign cargo vessel off the Mangaluru coast on Tuesday, Navy officials said.
They said the bodies of three fishermen that were recovered on Friday were handed over to the local authorities in Mangaluru on Saturday.
There were a total of 14 fishermen on Indian fishing boat Rabah when it collided with Singapore-registered vessel MV APL Le Havre around 41 nautical miles west of the Mangaluru coast on Tuesday.
While two of the 14 were saved by the Singaporean vessel's personnel immediately, three bodies were recovered a little later on Tuesday itself.
INS Nireekshak was pressed into action on Friday and it recovered three more bodies after a couple of hours of search operation. These three bodies were handed over to the local authorities in Mangaluru on Saturday, Navy officials said, adding that the search for the remaining six fishermen continues.
INS Nireekshak is a diving support vessel that can undertake deep sea diving operations using specialised equipment and naval divers.
Other Indian naval ships Subhadra and Tillangchang, along with an aircraft from the naval air station in Goa, have also been deployed since Wednesday to search for the missing fishermen, the officials noted.
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Lebanon appoints new representative for talks with Israel, rejects linkage to Iran
Beirut: Lebanon’s has moved to underline its independent position in ongoing regional developments, amid attempts to link the country to the broader conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel.
President Joseph Aoun, while announcing the appointment of former US ambassador Simon Karam as Lebanon’s representative in talks with Israel, made it clear that Karam would be the sole representative for Lebanon and that there would be no substitute.
The move comes in response to what the Lebanese officials see as efforts by Iran to tie Lebanon’s situation to the wider regional conflict. Iran had indicated that there would be no ceasefire involving the US, Israel and Iran unless it also included a ceasefire in Lebanon.
Some groups, including Hezbollah and its supporters, had expressed support for linking the situations, citing concerns that the Lebanese government has limited leverage in negotiations with Israel. Lebanon is not formally a party to the conflict, and its army is considered weak.
However, others, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, have opposed this approach. They view Iran’s stance as an attempt to influence Lebanon’s internal affairs and see it as undermining the country’s sovereignty.
Officials backing the government’s position say the move is aimed at reaffirming Lebanon’s sovereignty and ensuring that decisions about peace and ceasefire within the country are not dictated externally.
They also see it as a safeguard, so that any breakdown in talks between the US, Israel and Iran does not automatically lead to renewed conflict in Lebanon.
