NAGAPATTINAM: Three fishermen on Monday set sail in a mechanised boat to rescue a group of 13 fishermen who got stuck in the sea off the coast of Nagapattinam. The trawler the latter were sailing in had sustained engine failure midway.
However, the turn of events had it that the mechanised boat, in turn, started to sink after incurring damage. Sources said the three fishermen - S Arun, G Ramkumar and B Vasanthan - went to the sea after receiving a call from their colleagues who informed them of their trawler malfunctioning at mid-sea.
The trawler is registered in the name of S Bhagyalakshmi and they were fishing east of Vellappallam when the it malfunctioned on Sunday night. Accordingly, the three fishers, reaching the spot, paired Bhagyalakshmi's boat with their vessel and started towing it back to Akkaraipettai, sources said.
However, while heading northwards, the mechanised boat sustained damage, following which water gushed into it in the morning hours of Monday. Within a matter of few minutes, it began to sink. Later, another group of fishermen - who were fishing nearby in a trawler - came to the rescue.
The mechanised boat sank completely, sources said. The three fishermen, however, were rescued and taken into the third boat. The first two boats were unpaired just in time before the latter sank, sources added. Finally, Bhagyalakshmi's boat - paired with the third boat - reached Nagapattinam Fishing Harbour around 7 in the evening. An official from the fisheries department said, "It is very difficult to retrieve the sunken boat off the coast since the spot is too deep."