Fishermen rescued after 12 hrs at sea

Ten fishermen were rescued from a sinking fishing trawler on Thursday night after being stranded off Butcher Island for nearly 12 hours.

Ten fishermen were rescued from a sinking fishing trawler on Thursday night after being stranded off Butcher Island for nearly 12 hours.

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A team of 15 policemen on three boats rescued the fishing party, which was on its way to a village called Mora after offloading the day's catch. The boat left Bhaucha Dhakka at 9am on Thursday and was nearing Butcher Island an hour later, when its rear end got lodged between the rocks. “The men assumed that once the sea level rises with the tide, the boat would be released. Hence, they did not inform anyone,” said Yuvraj Nandre, one of the 15 policemen involved in the operation. "But as the tide came in later in the evening, seawater started seeping through cracks in the hull."

Sensing trouble, the fishermen notified their employer who alerted the police at 7pm. The police sent two speedboats to rescue the fishermen. "Immediately, a team was dispatched and the

fisherfolk were rescued," Nandre said.