Kochi:
The naval sailor who went missing while saving a woman and her six-month-old child from ebbing waters of Ernakulam channel on Friday is yet to be traced.
A hectic search launched by the Navy throughout Friday night to trace the sailor Vishnu Unni failed to yield result but efforts to trace him would continue till he is found, a defence release said.
A dedicated co-ordination cell has been formed in the Naval Base for extending the search operations to the entire stretch of the channel right upto the harbour mouth.
Other agencies such as marine police, Cochin Ship Yard Ltd and Fisheries are supporting the Navy in the search. A total of 12 boats, nine of the from the Navy, had been pressed into the search process and helicopter sorties were also conducted for their aerial search.
In a valiant act, Vishnu rescued a woman who had jumped into the Ernakulam Channel in Kochi from a bridge with her six-month-old child. The child was declared dead on reaching hospital, where the mother is under treatment.
The 24-year-old sailor had taken the plunge into the ebbing waters on seeing the woman and child falling from the Vikrant Venduruthy Bridge.
Braving strong currents and in total disregard of his personal safety, he put both the woman and the child into a boat of the Cochin Shipyard limited (CSL) which had reached the spot by then.