Thiruvananthapuram: As many as 19 fishermen including six from Kerala have been detained off the coast of Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll, where the United States has a naval support facility.
The relatives of the fishermen received information regarding the incident on Thursday.
Among those detained, 12 are from Kanyakumari, six from Thiruvananthapuram and one from Assam.
The relatives received a message that these fishermen were detained on May 27, but the reasons are not known.
Fishermen from Kerala have been identified as Yanesh, 27, son of Xavier from Poovar, Agustin Das, 29, son of Titu Dasan from Poovar, Kunjumon, 28, son of Resudas, Pozhiyur, Lawrence, 55, son of Jenvaris, Poovar, Sygin, 42, son of Sebastian Poovar and Joseph, 37, son of Thansilas from Poonthura. They had left Kerala shores on May 14.
The Latin archdiocese authorities have approached both the state and central governments seeking help to get them released.