Chennai: The Coast Guard is continuing its search operations along the waters of Kanyakumari, according to fishermen who reached the shores after harrowing time in the deep seas for many days.The fishermen said the Coast Guard was active within 40 km off the shore and not 200 km where deep sea fishing was happening as being put out from certain quarters.

They said around 1,000 fishermen had gone to sea before cyclone Ockhi wrecked their lives.Separately, a large number of women held protest marches in the hamlet of Neerodi, demanding immediate rescue and relief operations for their menfolk who were trapped in the sea.

According to a senior Coast Guard official, search operations are conducted between 100-150 nautical miles and officials were willing to go further if there was an emergency.

A statement the defence wing of the Press Information Bureau said 32 fishing boats along with 346 fishermen from Tamil Nadu have taken shelter at Karwar. There were 129 fishing boats with 1,247 fishermen from Kerala, Karnataka and Maharshtra in the waters.