NAGAPATTINAM: Eleven fishers from Ramanathapuram district, stranded at sea for four hours following an engine failure in their boat, were rescued on Saturday evening. Four of them sustained injuries during the turbulence.
According to sources, the fishers, operating a motorised boat, had set out from the Nagapattinam harbour around 2 pm. Shortly after navigating the bar mouth, their boat developed an engine snag, leaving them stranded at rough sea.
A rescue attempt by Indian Navy personnel from Nagapattinam port, using a fast interceptor craft, was thwarted when the naval vessel also suffered an engine snag. The customs department was subsequently alerted and towed the naval craft to Karaikal port for repairs using their patrol vessel.
The relief came after four hours when the stranded fishers were rescued by a mechanised trawler from Akkaraipettai, which tethered the vallam boat and towed it back to the Nagapattinam harbour.