NAGAPATTINAM: Four fishermen from Tamil Nadu who were stranded in sea for over four days after they were allegedly assaulted and robbed at sea by unidentified assailants from Sri Lanka on August 24 are finally back home. They were helped to return to the shore by another group on Friday.
A group of fishers from Seruthur in the district came across the stranded fishermen in a starved and dehydrated condition. After learning about the latter's ordeal, the Seruthur group shared some of their food and water.
The rescued men are P Kumar and his boat crew members Kanthan (43), Santacruz (51) and David (51). Kumar who is from Kuttiyandiyur near Tharangambadi in Mayiladuthurai district has been fishing from the Nagapattinam fishing harbour.
On August 24, Kumar ventured into sea with his crew in his motorised boat from Nagapattinam. They were fishing around 12 nautical miles southeast of Kodiyakarai (Point Calimere). A group of unidentified people allegedly from Sri Lanka approached the fishers in motorised boats.
They boarded Kumar's boat and assaulted him and his crew. They snatched the two outboard engines, GPS, transceiver and mobile phones, and then fled. Kumar and his men were left stranded in sea for the next four days as they lost both their engines.
Their rations were sufficient for only a day, sources said. On Friday, the Seruthur group gave one of their two outboard engines to Kumar's group to help them return to shore before going about their own fishing trip.
Using the engine of Seruthur fishers, Kumar and his men reached the shore the same evening. Kumar was admitted to Nagapattinam General Hospital. The assault and robbery mid-sea is the seventh such incident this month.