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Fisherman says he survived 30 hrs in sea on rainwater

Last Updated 17 August 2021, 07:06 IST

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.

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.

Sunil was one among the 29 fishermen picked up by the contractor Jeetu, for a fishing expedition in a purse seine fishing boat, Falcon.

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.

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.

“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.

Sunil says the thought of jumping into the sea and swimming towards the boat had crossed his mind.

“But it would have been a foolish decision. I survived because I decided to stay in the dinghy,” he adds.

Sunil says it was pitch dark and to dispel fears he kept praying to St Sebastian Church.

Twice, he escaped from being hit by big ships, which suddenly emerged from the cloak of darkness.

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.

On the second night in the sea, Sunil saw a flash of light from a lighthouse in Kaup and hope flickered inside him.

“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.

Sachin says his sister Sunita in Bengaluru and younger brother Roshan in Mumbai were relieved on being informed that their father was alive.

“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.

“He is the only fishermen to survive in recent times after being adrift in the sea for more than 30 hours,” adds Boloor.

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(Published 09 September 2020, 17:37 IST)

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