West Bengal Trawler Tragedy: PM Modi Announces Rs 2 Lakh Ex-Gratia For Families Of Deceased Fishermen

Last Updated:July 13, 2026, 21:23 IST

The ill-fated trawler 'FB Maa Kali' had 15 fishermen on board when it disappeared earlier this month. Nine bodies have been recovered, while six remain missing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) for the next of kin of each fisherman killed after a trawler capsized in the Bay of Bengal near the Sundarbans in West Bengal. The injured will receive Rs 50,000.

“The loss of lives due to the capsizing of a boat in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal is deeply painful. My thoughts are with the bereaved families in this hour of grief. May the injured recover at the earliest. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000," the Prime Minister’s Office said in a post on X.

The announcement came after police recovered the bodies of nine fishermen from a trawler that capsized in the Bay of Bengal near the Sundarbans earlier this month.

Teams from the Gobardhanpur Police Station, the Forest Department and the Indian Coast Guard located the sunken trawler near the Raktachara area on Sunday, the Indian Express said in a report. The vessel was later salvaged and brought to Sitarampur in Gobardhanpur, where nine bodies were recovered.

The ill-fated trawler, identified as FB Maa Kali, had 15 fishermen on board when it set out from the Digha-Shankarpur fishing harbour in Purba Medinipur district on July 2.

According to police, contact with the trawler was lost on July 5 after it encountered adverse weather conditions. Following an extensive eight-day search involving local authorities, the Coast Guard and fishermen’s associations, the vessel was found submerged near Bagherchar, around 35 kilometres off the Bakkhali coast.

Search operations continued on Monday for the six missing fishermen, with the Indian Coast Guard and district authorities deploying drones and helicopters to scan the area. While the recovery of the trawler initially gave families hope that the missing crew members would be found, the discovery of nine bodies has left bereaved relatives mourning their loss even as anxious families of those still unaccounted for continue to await news.

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Shankhyaneel Sarkar

Shankhyaneel Sarkar is a senior subeditor at News18. He covers international affairs, where he focuses on breaking news to in-depth analyses. He has over five years of experience during which he has c...Read More

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