A 42-year-old fisherman who reportedly drowned in sea on Wednesday morning has been feared dead after he could not be traced till evening. Villagers of Idinthakarai in Tirunelveli district said that Rufus was among the group of 10 fishermen which had set off for fishing around 6.30am. At around 7.15am when their boat was 500m away from the shore their net got stuck in the rocks below. “The seabed close to our shore is rocky and nets used to get stuck often. Rufus is an expert in freeing nets. So he dived to free the nets but did not come up. Despite a search by fellow fishermen of his boat and other villagers he could not be rescued or spotted. So we informed the fisheries department and police,” said fisherman V Vignesh Ram, 20, of Idinthakarai. Villagers said that he is feared dead as he could have got stuck in the rocks or the net.
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