RAMANATHAPURAM: Six fishermen from Periyapattinam had a narrow escape after spending more than five hours adrift in the rough sea when their fibre boats capsized between Appa and Vaalai islets on Thursday night. They were eventually rescued by fellow fishermen returning from a fishing trip.
The fishermen — Arumugam (42), Kalanjiyam (40), Viswanathan (25), Kalanjiya Murugan (40), Chinnathurai (35) and Murugan (35) — had ventured into the sea from Vannangundu coast in two fibre boats. While fishing, a sudden massive wave overturned both their boats, throwing the men into the sea.
Clinging onto their overturned vessels to stay afloat, the fishermen were left stranded without any means of communication as their mobile phones and fishing gear were swept away. “We just held on to the overturned boat and prayed someone would find us,” Arumugam later recalled. Their ordeal came to an end when a country boat passing by noticed them and alerted fishermen from the Kallimankundu area. A rescue team was immediately dispatched and all six were brought back to the Vannangundu. Though they suffered minor injuries and lost their fishing equipment, all six survived the accident. Upon arrival, they were questioned by the Pudumadam marine police.
2 Lankan fishermen rescued
The Indian Coast Guard rescued two Sri Lankan fishermen, who were stranded in mid-sea near Dhanushkodi, after their fibre boat developed an engine snag. B Sumith Jeyaruban (42) and S Surangar (40), hail from Puttalam district of Sri Lanka. They were later handed over to the Marine Police for inquiry.