BHADRAK/BHUBANESWAR: In a miraculous story of survival, four fishermen, who had gone missing in the deep sea since August 23, managed to make it back to the land on Wednesday night, after surviving five days in the rough sea.
After they boat capsized, they did not give up and continued to swim for about five days and finally reached the coast on Wednesday night.
Clinging to makeshift floats and swimming against strong currents, the fishermen managed to swim back towards the coast before being rescued. Their boat had reportedly snapped and sunk after developing a technical snag.
The fishermen were identified as Pabana Mallick (57), Bana Mallick (36), Prakash Malik (34) and Sapana Mallick (70), all of whom had set sail from Chudamani fishing harbour under Basudevpur block.
On August 21, the group ventured into the sea. According to the fishermen, their motorised boat developed a technical snag and drifted into deep waters. For three days, they tried to steer the vessel using its sail but on August 23 the boat snapped and started sinking.
“We were fishing and had just cast the net when the motor suddenly stopped. Despite repeated attempts, it wouldn’t start. We dropped the anchor, but strong sea currents tore it away,” recalled Pabana Mallick.
Soon after, the vessel started to give way and sank. Left with no option, the group clung to floats and other makeshift supports to stay alive. Battling hunger, exhaustion and currents, they took turns holding onto the drifting support and slowly propelled themselves towards the shore.
On Wednesday night, they finally reached the coast, where locals rescued them and admitted them to Basudevpur medical centre. Their condition is reported to be stable.
Sources said the boat owner did not lodge a missing complaint with police, and only informed them after the fishermen returned safely. Despite the presence of a Marine police station at Kasia, the group reportedly had no external help.
Police sources admitted that boats have not been allotted to Kasia and Chudamani Marine Police stations, limiting them to land patrols.