Mumbai, Apr 26 (IANS): Two fishermen were killed and four went missing when an Indian fishing vessel sank after it was hit by a large vessel off the Goa-Karwar coast in the Arabian sea Thursday, an official said Friday.

The fishing vessel, Sea Messiah, was knocked out by the unidentified large vessel about 250 nautical miles south of Mumbai around 5 a.m. Thursday, the maritime official said.

At the time of the incident, the fishing boat was at anchor and there were 29 fishermen on board.

Sea Messiah reportedly split into two after the collision and sank within minutes.

Fortunately, other fishing trawlers in the vicinity sent out distress signals to the Indian Coast Guard and managed to save 23 fishermen and recovered two bodies.

The Indian Navy diverted INS Suvarna and INS Koswari, which were around 130 nautical miles from where the fishing vessel sank, to launch a rescue mission.

A search operation is currently on to trace the missing fishermen, the official said.