Fishermen of Jeevarathinam Nagar in Kasimedu were in a state of jubilation on Sunday following the return of five fishermen – R. Kadumbadi (33), R. Mayandi (35), G. Sakthivel (23), D. Mani (25) and Suresh (23), who went missing ten days ago.
The village knew that the men, who went fishing last week, were alive only two days ago when one of them called his mother-in-law. Bruised, tired and de-hydrated, the men recalled their ordeal. Various factors led to water entering the boat, resulting in its tilting. One of the fishermen swam under the water and freed the engines so that the boat could float again.
“We clambered on the boat and sat without food or water for over four days. The boat drifted towards Machilipatnam and we were rescued by fishermen of Andhra Pradesh,” said Kadumbadi, who owns the boat. He said that one of the A.P. fishermen swam to the shore and sent back a boat.
The Tamil Nadu fishermen climbed on it and reached the shores.
“We thought they were dead since there was no news of them and search parties came back empty handed. We have now planned special pujas and abhishekam for Sri Sengalamman. We will also try and complete the construction of the temple gopuram,” said Jeevarathinam Nagar Panchayat fishermen president Chella Kannu.
The fishermen were brought back by the Fisheries department.
