Mangaluru:  Karnataka Minister for Fisheries Kota Srinivas Poojary, who is also Dakshina Kannada District in-charge Minister on Thursday handed over cheque for Rs 6 lakhs to each of the family of six fishermen who died in the boat capsize tragedy.

Six fishermen drowned after their boat capsized near an estuary, about 9 nautical miles off the Mangaluru coast. The five bodies have been retrieved.

Shreeraksha, a deep sea fishing boat registered in 2013 had sailed from Mangaluru fishing harbor, early on Monday and was expected to return on Tuesday morning. The boat was carrying close to 20 tonnes of fish. In all 22 persons in the boat and 16 of them were rescued.