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.