Tamil Nadu fisherman rescued from fall in sea dies in Gujarat

MADURAI: S John, a fisherman from Chinnathurai coastal village near Thoothoor in

Kanyakumari district

, who fell from a fishing boat in the

Arabian Sea

off

Gujarat

coast on Thursday died in a hospital in Rajkot in the wee hours of Saturday.

President of International Fishermen Development Fraternity P Justin Antony said that the fisherman's son also died in the sea six years ago.

It is learnt that John who is in his 60s went fishing with 14 others from Cochin in a boat owned by Raju of Chinnathurai on November 2. "They were engaged in deep sea fishing off the Gujarat coast on Thursday and the boat was moving when John accidentally fell off the boat. However, fellow fishermen jumped to his rescue and took him on board," the activist said.

The boat stopped fishing, as the aged fisherman suffered breathing difficulty, and headed to Gujarat as it was the closest shore. Justin said that John was taken to a hospital and was referred to one hospital after the other for better treatment, but he breathed his last around 1 am on Saturday.

His body will be brought to his native village. It is learnt that John's son Suresh, 29, also fell into the sea and died on February 2, 2013. His body could not be traced till date. John was the only earning member in the family. He has a wife and four daughters.