The families of the missing fishermen had been staging protests at Vizhinjam beach area since Friday demanding immediate action to trace their kin.
In a sigh of relief, four out of seven fishermen who were reported missing at sea from Vizhinjam coast have returned back to the shore safely.
According to the family members, the fishermen were stranded in the deep sea on Friday after the engine of their boat were damaged due to the harsh waves. Their boat had developed a technical fault and was drifting about 28 nautical miles from the shore.
However, by Saturday morning they were able to restart the engine following which they reached the shore all by themselves, ANI reported. The fishermen, who were left without food, have been shifted to a hospital.
The families of the missing fishermen had been staging protests at Vizhinjam beach area since Friday demanding immediate action to trace their kin.
Seven fishermen were earlier reported to be missing as rains intensified and lashed several parts of Kerala for the third day on Saturday under the influence of the southwest monsoon.
Former chief minister Oommen Chandy visited the area Saturday morning and met the family members. Later, he told reporters that he had spoken to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and sought aerial search by Navy around the coast here.
Twenty-eight fishermen had set out in seven boats from the Vizhinjam coast search of the missing fishers, Kovalam MLA M Vincent said.
Fisheries minister J Mercykutty Amma said the state government was doing all that was humanly possible and fishermen should not venture into the sea when it is rough.
In Arratupuzha, relief camps have been opened to accommodate families that have shifted there after seawater entered their houses.
But three other fishermen from Tamil Nadu, who had put out to sea from Kollam's Neendakara district in Kerala, are still missing, along with a man who had gone to bathe at Fort Kochi beach.
In the hilly Idukki district, a minor landslide occurred Saturday morning at Konnathady village, causing crop loss. There were no casualties, official sources said.
Local authorities in Kerala on Saturday issued alerts across the state anticipating heavy downpour in the next few days. In the northernmost Kasaragod district where a red alert has been issued, Kudule recorded 30.6 cm rainfall and Hosdurg 27.7 cm in 24 hours till 8:30 am Saturday, the sources said.
The Kariangode river is in spate and has changed its course, flooding 50 houses in the vicinity, and people have been shifted to relief camps.
The move is taken after India Meteorological Department (IMD) bulletin predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall in isolated parts of the region.
People have been advised against travelling in hilly areas.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
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