Two fishing boats sink mid-sea; nine fishermen rescued

Nine fishermen were today rescued by their counterparts when two mechanised trawlers sank near here, police said.

While one boat sank four nautical miles from Pamban, the other sank mid-sea off Dhanushkodi coast.

The fishermen of the two boats were struggling for over an hour before they were rescued by their colleagues and brought to the Mandapam coast, Marine police said.

Meanwhile, a country boat anchored in the sea near Pamban here was gutted in a fire last night.

The boat belonged to one Michael of Pamban.

Marine police are investigating the case and the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, police said.