Four fishermen of Sirkazhi block in Nagapattinam district, who had been missing for the past two weeks after venturing into the sea ahead of Cyclone Ockhi, returned from Kerala on Saturday after being rescued by the Indian Navy.
According to sources, a group of 16 fishermen of Thirumullaivasal, Thoduvai and Koozhaiyur in Sirkazhi block had ventured into the sea from Kerala on November 26. Four of them, hailing from Thoduvai village, drifted more than 200 nautical miles off their usual fishing area along the Kerala coast due to the impact of Cyclone Ockhi. After a three-day struggle, their whereabouts were traced by a vessel of the Indian Navy, which escorted them until they reached Cochin port. From there, the quartet — Mayavan, Vijayanathan, Kalaichandran and Parthiban — made their way back to Thoduvai and were reunited with their families.
“Life was hell for us for more than three days.We did not know what happened until the naval vessel brought us to Kochi. The Naval personnel took good care of us,” said Parthiban.
Similarly, four other fishermen of Pushpavanam near Vedaranyam, who had been missing for the past 10 days, returned home on Saturday. The fishermen — Chinnaiyan, 53, Kaviselvam, 48, Anjappan, 40 and Ilangovan, 25 — had ventured into the sea along with a group from Thoothur of Kanniyakumari district. Their boat was reportedly spotted about 570 nautical miles off Thoothur.