Sindhudurg (Maharashtra), May 24 (IANS): At least two persons drowned and two others were missing after a boat carrying a consignment of ice toppled in windy weather here, an official said on Friday

The incident happened late Thursday night near Vengurla Port.

Three others sailing on the boat from Vengurla to Ratnagiri port, managed to jump off the sinking vessel and swam to safety in the darkness, said Vengurla Police Station Inspector Shivshankar Sawant.

“The body of one victim was fished out of the Arabian Sea waters this morning where it was flung by the strong water currents. Among those on the boat were five persons from Madhya Pradesh, one from Karnataka and one from Ratnagiri in Maharashtra,” Sawant told IANS.

The local fire brigade, Vengurla Police and SDRF with the help of local fisherfolks have launched a rescue to trace the two missing persons, said Sawant.

The boat flipped over around 9.30 p.m. off Vengurla but the police and other authorities learnt of it only after the trio swam ashore by midnight and raised an alarm following which a rescue operation was organised this morning.

Eyewitnesses said that owing to the strong winds lashing the region since Thursday evening the small boat seemed to have lost control, went astray in the sea waters and started sinking.

As per preliminary information, the ill-fated boat was transporting ice for the fishing vessels which use it to preserve the fresh catch before it is offloaded at various big and small ports.