Kochi : Two fishermen were killed and three others reported missing when an unidentified ship collided with their boat off Alappuzha coast in the early hours on Thursday, the second incident involving fishermen in the Kerala coast in the last fortnight.

Two fishermen were rescued by the crew of other boats in the sea, district authorities said

The boat, Dwan-II, had ventured to sea from Neendakara fishing harbour on Sunday with seven fishermen aboard.

The Navy, Coast Guard and Marine Enforcement have launched a search to spot and identify the ship and find out how exactly the mishap occurred, Alappuzha District Collector Saurav Jain said.

A rescued fishermen said the boat was anchored at sea and was hit by the ship.

The deceased were identified as Francis Justine and Xavier, both from Kollam district.

The rescued fishermen were brought to Thottappaly fishing harbour in Alappuzha district and rushed to hospital.

The incident comes close on the heels of killing of two fishermen from the same area allegedly by two naval guards of the Italian ship ‘Enrica Lexie’ on February 15.