Fishermen swim to safety as boat runs aground off Periyamudaliar Chavadi

October 26, 2014 02:22 pm | Updated May 23, 2016 03:50 pm IST - PUDUCHERRY:

PUDUCHERRY, 25/10/2014: (FOR PAGE 3) The fishing boat that ran aground at 
Periyamudaliyar Chavadi near Puducherry on Saturday. Photo: S.S. Kumar

PUDUCHERRY, 25/10/2014: (FOR PAGE 3) The fishing boat that ran aground at 
Periyamudaliyar Chavadi near Puducherry on Saturday. Photo: S.S. Kumar

Six fishermen swam to safety after their boat ran aground off the Periyamudaliar Chavadi near here on Saturday.

According to police, Anbu (35), Kumar (46), Johnson (37) of Tuticorin, Guru (40) and Kabali (35) of Kizhputhupet and Ezhilan (30) of Puducherry set out for fishing from the Thengaithittu harbour on Tuesday.

They were steering the boat when it ran aground and their attempts to anchor it failed. So they abandoned it and swam to safety.

“We had cast our fishing nets in the sea when the boat was led off course and the bottom was ripped apart. Water gushed in and we lost control and snapped the fishing nets. The boat worth Rs. 15 lakh and fishing nets worth Rs. 6 lakh have been completely damaged,” said a fisherman.

Fishermen in Puducherry have been facing the daily hassle of steering their boats in and out of the Thengathittu harbour, and several boats have been damaged over the last few months.

The dredging work which commenced off the harbour in August after a long gap is expected to prevent boats from running aground after hitting hard sandbars.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.