A BAHRAINI dhow owner has requested assistance from the Indian Embassy to locate two of his employees who have been missing at sea for more than two weeks.
Tareq Almajed from Galali said he was worried about his long-term employees Sahaya Celso, 37, and Anthony Vincent George, 33, who had set sail on a two-day voyage from Muharraq coast on October 17 and disappeared.
Last week, the GDN reported that the Coastguard was continuing its search for the men and their missing boat (BH19102).
“There is no news and I am concerned because they have been my employees for a long time and I am unable to console their young families,” Mr Almajed told the GDN.
“The Bahraini Coastguard spoke to me two days ago and said the search is still ongoing, though they added that the men could not be found in Bahraini waters.
“They also said they were in contact with Qatari and Saudi Arabian officials, but not with the Iranian Coastguard.
“I went to the Indian Embassy on Tuesday morning and filed a petition requesting additional assistance in locating the men.”
Meanwhile, Indian parliament last week heard MP Vaiyapuri Gopalsamy (Vaiko) requesting an investigation into the case, while also submitting a written plea to Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Jaishankar Subrahmaniam.
“Now, despite lapse of one week, they have not returned. Their families are very much concerned and worried,” Mr Gopalsamy said in the letter, a copy of which was secured by the GDN.
“I would request you to take immediate action to trace the missing fishermen and to restore them to their families,” he added.
Friends of the missing men are also attempting to locate them.
“We asked all our friends in Qatar and Saudi Arabia to look for them in hospitals and prisons, but they were nowhere to be found,” a fellow national told the GDN.
“Indian fishermen in Iran are also looking for them.
“The family has been told that they are in Qatari jail for straying into the waters and are patiently awaiting their release – we don’t know what to tell them.”
The GDN previously reported that the Coastguard informed Mr Almajed of a Bahraini dhow spotted alongside an Iranian boat by the Qatar Coastguard.
Some Indian fishermen in Iran claimed to have seen a capsized boat on their border, partially broken and missing one engine. The men had also identified the missing boat, as the dhow owner had claimed.
Mr Celso has two children, aged nine and four, and Mr George has a four-year-old and a baby of 18 months. They are from Kadiapattinam in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district.
A response from the Indian Embassy is awaited.
raji@gdnmedia.bh
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