CHENNAI: Amid the gloom that descended on Pulicat area after the boat tragedy that claimed 21 lives, the brave act of 21-year-old fisherman Mani, stands out. His quick thinking and action saved the lives of three children, who were holding on to an iron rod on the capsized boat, even as the elders in the family drowned.Speaking about the incident, Mani said he saw the three children clinging to the iron rod for their dear life while a woman struggled in the water, calling for help.“The moment the woman saw me, she called for help.I asked her to wait as I wanted to get the children out first,” said Mani, barely betraying any emotion. “I pulled the children on to my boat and turned back to rescue the woman, but she disappeared into the water,” he said.Mani had gone fishing around 1 am, sailing 30 kilometres into the sea on Sunday along with three others, Premkumar (22), Anandan (28) and Silambu (21). The group caught fish worth `7,000. He was returning home when, around 3 pm, he noticed the capsized boat at the mouth of the sea. Mani said that the boatman, Hansar, who took the family out on his boat, was not a fisherman and had barely any experience fishing in the sea.“He used to take out his boat and fish only in the lake. Fishing in the sea needs more experience. “Even fishermen like us do not take tourists to the mouth of the sea as there will be more force and pressure on the boat as the water enters the sea. When we cross the mouth while going fishing, only three or four of us will occupy a boat,” Mani said, stopping to catch a breath.He continued, “The boatman who took the family did not have experience of the sea. Moreover, in the last four days, it has been too windy and many fishermen have not ventured into the sea. Fishermen never overload our boats with tourists because we know it is risky. We don’t know why he took them to that place.”
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