Kochi, Aug 7: A ship off the coast of Kerala here rammed into an Indian fishing boat early on Tuesday along the international route, killing three fishermen, a minister said. The ship is being located.

The incident took place around 28 nautical miles from the shore on the high seas around 4 a.m., Kerala Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty said. The ship's identification and more details are awaited, he said.

"We just have preliminary information and that three fishermen have been reported dead, while another eight fishermen in the boat who were saved are being brought to the shore.

"We are told that this accident occurred around 28 nautical miles from the shore. We have passed on the information to the Mumbai based Maritime Institute, who will be able to locate the ship," Mercykutty told the media.

The Indian boat named Oceanus had left the Munambam Port late on Monday for a fishing expedition in the high seas. P.V. Sivan the owner of the boat told the media that details were awaited. Two of the rescued fishermen were being taken to a hospital, Sivan said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 07, 2018 11:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).