MANGALURU: After five days, a deep sea fishing vessel from Tamil Nadu was rescued by the Coast Guard vessel Vikram. The crippled fishing boat was towed to safety and was docked at Bitra Islet in Lakshadweep Islands on Tuesday afternoon. The 13-member crew of the vessel ‘Luminous’ thanked the authorities and others who have helped them reach the shore safely.
“Five days in endless sea with a crippled boat, the morale of my crew was shattered. They started smiling after seeing the shore at Bitra,” boat owner Cleetus told Express from Lakshadweep. “Our supplies are really down and we have to go and eat a hearty meal first because the crew members were depressed and lost their appetite since no help was coming forth though a Coast Guard aircraft spotted us three days back. A crippled boat means definite death in the open sea if no help arrives,” he said.
Luminous from Thoothoor in Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu had left Kochi for fishing on October 15. On November 9, the fishing boat suffered an engine failure and the crew started sending out distress signals after they couldn’t start their engine.Rony Moorkoch, a ham radio operator from Payyanur in Kannur district in Kerala picked up their signals and informed Coastal Security Police at Nileshwar.