Chennai : Eighteen fishermen of Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, who were feared missing in Odisha, returned safely yesterday.
They were trapped in a trawler near Paradip ahead of Cyclone Phailin. The men jumped from the trawler and swam to safety at Ersama in Jagatsinghpur district. They were later taken to the district headquarters after providing medical aid, food, water and clothing by the district and Coast Guard authorities.
The fishermen were trapped around 4 km from Paradip. Though they had contacted the Coast Guard, rescue operations could not be conducted as the sea was extremely rough.
“Chief Minister Jayalalithaa instructed officials to take steps on a war footing to rescue the stranded fishermen in Odisha on October 12 noon when the issue was brought to her notice”, a government release said.
The Coast Guard, Navy, Odisha government's Special Relief Commissioner and top officials of the Fisheries Department were requested to take immediate steps to rescue the fishermen by Tamil Nadu.
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