Cyclone Ockhi: They fought with waves for life

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The men on motorised country boats sensed danger when winds pushed  their vessels anchored in deep sea by several kilometres in south-west direction on Wednesday evening. Some chose to rush back to reach the shore while others waited for wind speed to reduce  to return. However,  by Thursday  cyclone Ockhi had hit them for worse. The wind speed increased and they drifted  towards north-west direction at a time when government officials realised the seriousness.

Kumar of Neerodi, Marthandam and his three-member crew were among those who chose to stay back.   In the  wee hours of Friday, the waves in deep sea achieved the height of several metres. Kumar lowered anchor into the water and raced engine to balance over waves. The adventure would last only until 6 a.m. when the boat was finally toppled. The crew were washed away in different directions but luckily they managed to get hold of kerosene cans which they emptied to stay afloat. For over four hours,  they lay  paddling in the sea before being rescued by a fishing boat.

Similar was the condition of Vizhinjam-based Muthappan and his two young crew members. They sank 5 km away from the land and continued swimming before being rescued by boatmen from Tamil Nadu. Almost all the saved  persons   had similar experiences to share and spent hours battling high waves in the deep sea. However, a few elderly fishermen could not make it back in good shape. Xavier Louis, 57,  of Poonthura was among the two who died by the time they were picked up by Coast Guard. "If a timely warning was served,  we could have at least avoided elderly and unskilled crews on the boats. We would have loaded boats with life jackets and extra fuel that could have helped us find our way back," fishermen said.