Freak accident: Fisher gets entangled in net, dies

The victim was identified as U Surya, 23, from Pazhaya Nadukuppam fishing hamlet. He died while he was being taken to the shore by two other fishermen.

According to the police, Surya had ventured out on the sea along with his relatives Perumal and Padmanaban from his fishing hamlet in a single boat. The three would usually go fishing in the morning and return late in the evening. Sometimes they would stay over-night on the sea hoping for better catch, police added.

On Saturday night, while they were waiting for catch after spreading the net, Surya who was standing in one corner of the boat, lost his balance due to rough weather and fell into the sea.

Surya was a good swimmer and also someone who was familiar with the sea. An officer part of the investigation said, “Surya struggled in the water as he tried to come out of the water and get hold of the boat but got entangled in the net. However, after great struggle the others managed to pull him off the water with the net,” a police official said.

They two men who accompanied him told the police later that they tried to free him from the nylon net but failed. Police said they decided to rush the boat to the shore as they were afraid that their efforts to free him may have turned fatal for Surya. They reached the shore in 30 minutes time, the officer added.

On reaching the shore, they cut open the net using knife and scissors only to note that he was already dead. Though they rushed him to hospital, the medical team declared him dead on arrival. His body has been sent for a post mortem to Kancheepuram government hospital. Police said that they are waiting for the post mortem report to ascertain the cause of death.