<p class="title">Surrounded by friends and neighbours, 46-year-old Arthur Sunil Coehlo, sitting on a plastic chair in his tiled-house in Diamond Nagara in Ullal, seems composed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But his neighbour Clement D’Souza and his son Sachin Jeevan Coehlo inform, in hushed tones, that Sunil was badly shaken by the 30-hour ordeal in the sea.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunil was one among the 29 fishermen picked up by the contractor Jeetu, for a fishing expedition in a purse seine fishing boat, Falcon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunil recollects having sailed in the morning on Sunday and casting the net in the afternoon at a spot some 40 km from the nearest coast. To their bad luck, the fishing net got entangled.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As the seniormost fishermen in the team with 30 years of fishing experience, Sunil got into the dinghy tethered to the boat in order to straighten the net.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“It was pitch dark and suddenly the sea turned rough due to the storm. The rope tethered to the boat got cut and I was adrift in the dinghy,” recollects Sunil as his face turns grave.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunil says the thought of jumping into the sea and swimming towards the boat had crossed his mind.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“But it would have been a foolish decision. I survived because I decided to stay in the dinghy,” he adds.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunil says it was pitch dark and to dispel fears he kept praying to St Sebastian Church.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Twice, he escaped from being hit by big ships, which suddenly emerged from the cloak of darkness.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He shaped a metal piece as a cup to empty the water filling in the dinghy at regular intervals. To satisfy hunger pangs he drank rainwater that had collected in his dinghy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On the second night in the sea, Sunil saw a flash of light from a lighthouse in Kaup and hope flickered inside him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“On Tuesday, at around 8.30 am, I saw a fishing boat sailing at a distance. I used a white sac like a flag and succeeded in drawing their attention. The fishermen from Malpe first offered me food and then a hot bath to revive me,” Sunil recollects with gratitude.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sachin says his sister Sunita in Bengaluru and younger brother Roshan in Mumbai were relieved on being informed that their father was alive.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“When the sea is rough, the dinghy gets tossed around and overturns. It is indeed a miracle that Sunil managed to stay afloat and did not drown in the sea,” explains seasoned fisherman and National Fishworkers’ Forum Vice President Vasudev Boloor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“He is the only fishermen to survive in recent times after being adrift in the sea for more than 30 hours,” adds Boloor.</p>
<p class="title">Surrounded by friends and neighbours, 46-year-old Arthur Sunil Coehlo, sitting on a plastic chair in his tiled-house in Diamond Nagara in Ullal, seems composed.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But his neighbour Clement D’Souza and his son Sachin Jeevan Coehlo inform, in hushed tones, that Sunil was badly shaken by the 30-hour ordeal in the sea.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunil was one among the 29 fishermen picked up by the contractor Jeetu, for a fishing expedition in a purse seine fishing boat, Falcon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunil recollects having sailed in the morning on Sunday and casting the net in the afternoon at a spot some 40 km from the nearest coast. To their bad luck, the fishing net got entangled.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As the seniormost fishermen in the team with 30 years of fishing experience, Sunil got into the dinghy tethered to the boat in order to straighten the net.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“It was pitch dark and suddenly the sea turned rough due to the storm. The rope tethered to the boat got cut and I was adrift in the dinghy,” recollects Sunil as his face turns grave.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunil says the thought of jumping into the sea and swimming towards the boat had crossed his mind.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“But it would have been a foolish decision. I survived because I decided to stay in the dinghy,” he adds.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sunil says it was pitch dark and to dispel fears he kept praying to St Sebastian Church.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Twice, he escaped from being hit by big ships, which suddenly emerged from the cloak of darkness.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He shaped a metal piece as a cup to empty the water filling in the dinghy at regular intervals. To satisfy hunger pangs he drank rainwater that had collected in his dinghy.</p>.<p class="bodytext">On the second night in the sea, Sunil saw a flash of light from a lighthouse in Kaup and hope flickered inside him.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“On Tuesday, at around 8.30 am, I saw a fishing boat sailing at a distance. I used a white sac like a flag and succeeded in drawing their attention. The fishermen from Malpe first offered me food and then a hot bath to revive me,” Sunil recollects with gratitude.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sachin says his sister Sunita in Bengaluru and younger brother Roshan in Mumbai were relieved on being informed that their father was alive.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“When the sea is rough, the dinghy gets tossed around and overturns. It is indeed a miracle that Sunil managed to stay afloat and did not drown in the sea,” explains seasoned fisherman and National Fishworkers’ Forum Vice President Vasudev Boloor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">“He is the only fishermen to survive in recent times after being adrift in the sea for more than 30 hours,” adds Boloor.</p>
