Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jun 8: After a hole appeared in the hull of a gillnet boat that was moving towards Malpe from the old dock in the city on Wednesday June 7, seven fishermen in the boat were facing danger to their lives as the boat started sinking. Coast Guard, in response to SOS messages sent by the boat staff, rushed to the spot near Tannirbavi where the boat facing danger was positioned, and rescued seven fishermen.

The boat, identified as 'Murugesh Manjeshwari Gillnet boat', was the fishing boat which faced peril at around 9 am on Wednesday. Immediately the fishermen conveyed information about the incident to New Mangalore Port Trust through their Walkie Talkie set. A Coast Guard ship, Rajdoot, which was patrolling nearby, was dispatched to the spot and rescue operation was completed at about 10.45 am. Fishermen from Bengre, Anand, as well as Xavier, Tatoos, Clement, Antony Costa, Alexander Menezes and Jestoos, all from Thirvunanthapuram, were saved.

The boat has sunk, thus inflicting a loss of about Rs 9 lac on its owner. At the same time, fishermen expressed unhappiness about deserting the boat in the middle of the sea during the rescue operation without towing it to the shore.

Fisherman Anand said that he and other fishermen were taking the boat to Malpe for conducting fishing operations there. He said they had used a 10 HP engine to power the boat, without properly checking the safety aspects as the boat was new. However, when water started gushing into the boat, the fishermen removed fishnet and other equipment heaped on the floor and found that there was a hole at the bottom. The fishermen tried to empty the water and then sought to be rescued, he said, duly thanking the Coast Guard staff for saving their lives.