Bhadrak: Four fishermen of Bhadrak district battled waves, hunger and fatigue, floating on water for seven days after their boat sank in the Bay of Bengal, before returning home safely Thursday. The four, including a 70-year-old man, refused to give up hope as they clung to some floats and survived only by drinking water they carried in a bottle. When they ventured into the sea from Chudamani fishing harbour under Basudevpur block of the coastal district August 21 to catch fish, they did not know theirs would be a survival story. “We had cast a net when the engine of the boat ‘Hidimba’ suddenly stopped working due to a snag. Despite repeated attempts, it failed to start. We dropped the anchor, but the strong ocean currents ripped it away,” said 55-year-old Pabana Mallick, one of the four fishermen.
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The boat then drifted further towards the deep sea. The fishermen tried to control the vessel for three days using the sail, but August 24, it broke apart and eventually sank, Mallick said. “We fell into the water with only a bottle of water. We clung to floats and makeshift supports – some styrofoam articles – to stay afloat,” he said. After nearly seven days, the fishermen reached close to the Sunamuhin forest area on the night of August 27, when locals rescued them. They were taken to Basudevpur CHC, where doctors confirmed their condition was stable, said Lopamudra Nayak, the inspector in charge of Basudevpur police station. The other three fishermen are: Prakash Mallick,,34, Bana Mallick, 27, and Sapana Mallick, 70.
