/ 13 September 2000

TWO DEAD, TWO MISSING AFTER TRAWLER SINKS

NAVY and police divers have found the bodies of two fishermen who drowned when their trawler sank off the west coast, joint taskforce spokesman Piet Paxton said. The Pokki M, a 65-ton fishing trawler with a crew of nine sank shortly before 4pm on Tuesday. The trawler was heading for home when she capsized and sank. Five crewmen were found by a search and rescue vessel, a T-craft from Saldanha. Four of the crew were apparently trapped in the vessel when she went down, according to the master of the Pokki M. Paxton said divers who found the two bodies said there were no more trapped men in the sunken vessel. He said the search would continue for the two missing fishermen, but four to five metre swells were hampering their efforts.