Ockhi: Stranded at sea, holding hands, these TN fishermen waited 30 hours to be rescued

Two Tamil Nadu fishermen waited 30 hours to be rescued from a sea rendered hostile by cyclone Ockhi. They are the lucky ones. What follows is a story of hope and courage.

Akshaya Nath  | Edited by Ganesh Kumar Radha Udayakumar
Chennai, December 14, 2017 | UPDATED 13:49 IST
Josabath and Saolo, two fishermen who were rescued after a 30-hour ordeal caused by cyclone Ockhi, were among the lucky ones.Josabath and Saolo, two fishermen who were rescued after a 30-hour ordeal caused by cyclone Ockhi, were among the lucky ones.

Highlights

  • 1
    Josabath or Saolo were rescued by a ship after their boat capsized
  • 2
    We were afraid to let go of each others hands: Survivor
  • 3
    Towards the end we never thought we will make it: Survivor

When Josabath or Saolo ventured out to the sea on November 29, they had no idea that the very source of their livelihood would turn against them, rendered hostile by cyclone Ockhi.

Within a day, these fishermen, part of a group of four, were desperately clinging on their boat. They tied themselves to it using everything they could find. But then, disaster stuck: the boat capsized.

But Josabath or Saolo held on - to dear life, and to each other. After a 30-hour ordeal, the two men were rescued by a ship.

"We were afraid to let go of each others hands, and towards the end we never thought we will make it," one of them would tell reporters later.

Josabath is 54. Saolo is two decades younger. They're both lucky to be alive, and they're grateful for that chance.

But so many others have not been as fortunate as this pair.

Every day, distressing news of fishermen's corpses coming ashore reaches Kanyakumari, the town at India's southermost tip.

More than 462 fishermen from Kanyakumari and neighbouring Kerala have gone missing since cyclone Ockhi hit coastal regions of southern India and the archipalego of Lakshwadeep.

And every day, men from fishing villages get into their boats and set out in search of their missing brothers.

But how long will the search go on? Will there be more men like Josabath and Saolo? Time will tell.

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