Ambalapuzha: In a miraculous incident, Alex (37), a fisherman belonging to Eerassery at Punnapra in Alappuzha, swam for over five hours in pitch darkness in deep sea after he fell off his boat, before being rescued by another vessel.
Alex’s ordeal began soon after he joined a 55-member team of workers on ‘Padannayil No: 1’, a boat which set off for fishing in the sea from Purakkad coast on Wednesday evening. By midnight, the boat reached the deep sea. While engaged in fishing activities, Alex slipped and fell into the water, unnoticed by his colleagues. The boat continued its journey and Alex was stranded at a nowhere place.
“There was darkness everywhere. But I continued swimming with all my might in one direction, where I felt the land was located,” says Alex.
“I had practised swimming in the sea during childhood and it probably helped me now,” he adds.
All the time he was making an effort to stay afloat, Alex remembered the smiling face of his wife Meenu. “Her face was like a shining light which propelled me forward,” says Alex.
Several hours passed, but no other boat passed near the area where Alex was swimming. “By this time, fatigue began to set in and fear slowly crept in. But, the boat ‘Amos’ suddenly appeared and its crew saw me. They brought the boat near me and pulled me into it. The time then was past 5 am on Thursday,” he says.
Amos headed towards Thottappally harbour, also in Alappuzha, and reached there by 8.30 am. Police officers from Ambalapuzha police station soon arrived and shifted Alex to Government TD Medical College, Alappuzha.
By that time, Alex’s colleagues on his boat and his relatives and acquaintances on land had learnt about his disappearance. However, the news of his rescue also was shared soon, spreading a wave of relief.
“I have been venturing out to the sea for fishing for the last 22 years, but it is for the first time that such an incident has taken place,” says Alex, who is now recuperating at the hospital with his caring wife Meenu beside him.
Local legislator H Salam visited Alex in hospital.
