Cyclone Tauktae: 6 Uttan fishermen return after 3 days

After battling Cyclone Tauktae, six fishermen aboard trawler New Help Mary finally returned to the coast after spending two days and three nights at sea, 35 nautical miles off Uttan coast

After battling Cyclone Tauktae, six fishermen aboard trawler New Help Mary finally returned to the coast after spending two days and three nights at sea, 35 nautical miles off Uttan coast.

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The owner of the trawler, Justin Miranda, said, “The trawler left Uttan on May 14 for fishing. After covering around 35 nautical miles, we got a message on the wireless to return to the nearest coast due to the cyclone warning. Following this we started to return, but around 15 nautical miles off Uttan, we were caught in the cyclone. We conveyed this to Bernard D’mello, fishermen leader, so that our family members would get some hope.”

The fishermen initially decided to go to Dahanu coast, but as it would take around 12 hours, they decided to drop the anchor and stay at the spot. “We dropped the anchor after we covered only nine nautical miles in three hours. However due to the gusty winds, it broke. The second and third anchor also broke, and we were drifting four nautical miles in the opposite direction. Our boat was tossing in the sea and we just had a long rope for support,” said Miranda. Due to the tossing, the steering wheel of the trawler also got partially damaged.

“We could see the Indian Navy chopper coming to our rescue, but they had to return thrice due to inclement weather and we were at the mercy of Mother Nature,” said Miranda.