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KANYAKUMARI, INDIA, December 27, 2004: Bravery of fishermen in Kanyakumari helped to save the lives of over 500 people at the Vivekananda rock memorial on Sunday. Undeterred by the menacingly high tides, fishermen put their boats out into the sea and went to rescue the stranded tourists after the deadly Tsunami waves hit India’s southeast coast on Sunday morning. They made several trips to the rock memorial to bring the stranded tourists to safety. The boats which took the tourists to the rock did not return, as several hundred people died at Kanyakumai in the tsunami.



“We just could not watch people helplessly waving at us from the rock memorial for help. We took the initiative first and police and others came after that,” said Lenin, a local fisherman. “Initially nobody was there from the administration. So we did not care for our lives and just plunged into the sea to save them,” said Praveen, a local fisherman. The IAF helicopter, which was called to airlift the stranded people, made several sorties to the rock memorial but could not land there. All it could do was drop food and water packets. It was then that the local fishermen swung into action and virtually took over the rescue operations. And completed it successfully. Had it not been for their daring act, these people would not have made it to the shores safely. “We are alive today because of the help of local people. The fishermen and boat operators came and saved us,” said Sanjay Garde, a tourist from Pune. Even the police have acknowledged the role played by the local fishermen. “More than 100 fishermen in Kanyakumari helped me and we all worked together,” said Mohan Shanker, DIG, Tirunelveli Range. While Tsunami may have killed thousands across nations, it clearly could not kill the spirits of thousands of such heroes whose act of bravery might have made all the difference for many people at many places.

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