Chennai: Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to initiate steps to bring back the bodies of three Indian fishermen, who died in an accident while doing fishing operations off Saudi Arabian coast.

In a letter to Modi, Palaniswami said the three — George, Nevil and Joseph — all from Kanyakumari district went for fishing along with a Saudi national on March 17 from the Darin fishing base in Saudi Arabia.

“While doing fishing operations in a fishing vessel owned by a Saudi Arabian owner, they met with an accident on March 18. The bodies of George and Joseph have been recovered and the search is on for Nevil,” he pointed out.

Stating that the three were working in the Kingdom on contract basis, Palaniswami said the families of the fishermen are traumatised after knowing about the tragedy and are seeking diplomatic assistance in the search and rescue of Nevil besides transportation of the bodies to Tamil Nadu and in getting financial assistance from their employers.

Urging the Prime Minister to direct the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia to take steps to arrange for necessary search and rescue operations and transportation of the bodies of the deceased, Palaniswami also requested the Modi to take steps for taking up the matter with the employer and ensure that the monetary benefits due to all the three fishermen are released to their families without any delay.