NAGERCOIL: The 20 fishermen from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh, who were stranded at mid-sea near Lakshadweep, have been rescued. Sources from fishermen associations said that a group of fishermen from Kanniyakumari district and other places had ventured into the sea for fishing in a mechanised boat from Cochin Harbour in Kerala on May 2.
When they were involved in deep-sea fishing on May 18, a malfunction developed in the boat, sources said. Subsequently, another mechanised boat came to the rescue of the stranded fishermen and had been towing the faulty boat towards the shore. However, after a few days of towing, the boat that came to the rescue of fishermen too stopped functioning. Hence, the two boats, with 20 fishermen on board, got stranded at mid-sea near an island of Lakshadweep.
The 20 fishermen are from Kanniyakumari, Ramanathapuram, Nagapattinam and Dindigul districts in Tamil Nadu, and Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The two mechanised boats are from Kanniyakumari district.
On Sunday, fishermen associations in Kanniyakumari district urged the authorities to rescue the stranded fishermen. Fisheries department officials from the district on Monday said that the 20 fishermen and the two boats had been rescued by the Indian Coast Guard.
The boats were taken to a nearby island and food was given to the fishermen, officials said. Of the 20, three are from Kanniyakumari district, five from Ramanathapuram, two from Nagapattinam, one from Dindigul district, six are from Andhra Pradesh, and two from Kerala, they added.