The bodies of three sailors, who were reported missing from the MT Pratibha Cauvery ship post its hit by cyclone Nilam, were recovered on Friday.

According to reports, rescue teams found the bodies at different places. Two bodies were recovered from the sea while the third was found in Adyar Estuary. Five people in total were reported missing when the cyclonic storms struck the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

The search operation for the rest of the missing sailors is being carried out. The ship is stationed near Basant Beach in Chennai since Wednesday.

The five sailors went missing when the lifeboat that they were using to sail away from the ship capsized.

About 15 crew members on Thursday were rescued by the Coast Guard helicopters, reported NDTV.

It was said reported that when the cyclone made land fall the captain of the ship sent a distress call but didn't receive a response.

"We do not monitor ships at ports, not even on a cyclone day. We rescue only when there is a call." a coastal guard was quoted by the news service.

Port officials in Chennai claimed that despite the cyclone alert the captain ignored the bracing instructions and went ahead with sailing the ship.  

Although the alert was made way ahead, rescue operations could not be initiated immediately by the Coast Guard and Tamil Nadu government coastal security group due to bad weather and high velocity of wind.  

Four lives in total were clamied by Nilam in the state.

To contact the editor, e-mail: