40 rescued fishermen return to Kanniyakumari

After cyclone ‘Ockhi’ wreaked havoc in Kanniyakumari district, many fishermen who had for deep sea fishing, went missing. Many had died and their bodies were found floating in the sea. 

There were discrepancies in the count of missing and dead fishermen and according to the representatives, the correct count would emerge only after Christmas and New Year as many of the fishermen would have planned to return to coast only during the festive times.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, 40 fishermen in four boats returned to Thoothoor and Vallavilai coastal villages in Kanniyakumari district. 

In the first incident, 10 fishermen from Thoothoor village who were rescued by fellow fishermen reached the coast in the morning. The fishermen had left on November 27, two days before the cyclone. They said that they were casting their nets 112 nautical miles off the coast of Thoothoor. But, in the last 18 days none of the rescue teams had come close to them. Based on the GPS location, fellow fishermen had rescued them, said the fishermen. 

Similarly, 30 fishermen in three mechanised boats had reached Vallavilai coast in the morning. They said that they too had gone before the cyclone alert. 

However, in the initial days of cyclone they had managed to escape by using parachute as balloons and managed to remain afloat. The return of the fishermen had brought fresh hopes among other fishermen kin who are still waiting for the safe return of their family members. 

Though Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, said on a positive note that fishermen are still returning and the exact count of missing fishermen would be known after Christmas, representatives say that the four boats were actually not in the list of missing boats and therefore there is no change in the number of missing fishermen. Also, the 40 fishermen, who returned on Tuesday were in touch with their families and they could not be counted upon among the missing ones, said the representatives.

Three men from Colachel who went for fishing in a country boat had gone missing. Fellow fishermen had began a search operation for them, on Tuesday. After Cyclone Ockhi, fishermen have begun to venture out in small numbers in Kanniyakumari district. On Sunday, Saveriar Pichai, Simson Jose and Anthony Adimai, had ventured into the sea from Colachel and were due to return by Monday morning.

However, the trio did not return. So, fellow fishermen informed the Fisheries Department, who in turn, informed the Coast Guard which had sent a ship from Thoothukudi for rescuing them. Also, fellow fishermen in six mechanised boats have gone in search of their comrades.