Friday, March 29, 2024 | Ramadan 18, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

‘My son said he was coming; never expected this’

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“My son said he would come next week to take me to the eye hospital for the surgery. He will come, my mind is saying... for he cannot go away from me”, cries Ramanathan, father of Kasilingam, a 23- year-old fisherman who went out to fish on the fateful night of September 17 from Masirah Island. Kasilingam is the only child of Ramanathan and Magadaivi.


Kasilingam is one among the many who went for fishing from Masirah Island before the cyclone Hikka hit Oman shores. While many fishing boats returned in the next few days, whereabouts of two boats are not known .


“My dad has always cared for my safety and security and he used to call me whenever he returned from the sea”, remembers Ramesh, son of Karmegham, another fisherman who was on the ill-fated boat.


People in the small fishing village called Nambuthalai in Ramanathapuram near Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu state have not slept or ate properly ever since the news that many of their sons have not returned from the sea and panic grew as days passed.


One body was found floating in the sea off Duqum on September 27 and two more bodies between Masirah and Sinaw.


Rescue operations teams, with the help of the local people, have found the wreckage of their boat on Monday. Sillvai Dhadan Alphonse, Kadhalingam Kathaiya, and Ramanathan Thiyagarajan were also on the boat.


According to an official at ROP, 15 people went missing after their fishing vessels capsized in two separate incidents. One boat had eight sailors and the other one had seven on board.


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