Lifesaving Heroes: How Fishermen on Velankanni Beach Are Rescuing Tourists from Drowning

Time of India

5 days ago

SAFE AND SOUND: Helping Hands, a team of 20 trained fishermen, has been saving lives since 1997. Pic R Baskar
For about three decades, a group of fishermen has been saving lives on Velankanni Beach, so much so that the coastal security force calls them their 'first response arm' in emergencies.
It's a movement, says P Antony Franklin Jeyaraj, that was born out of a moment of helplessness. In the summer of 1997, Jeyaraj, then a 27-year-old social worker from Velankanni, watched in shock as three tourists were swept away by strong waves.
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'Family members were crying beside the bodies,' says the 55-year-old. 'I kept wondering, could they have been saved?'
Jeyaraj then began thinking about a lifesaving service and that was how 'Helping Hands' was launched with a catamaran and a couple of fishermen.
Today, the team has 20 trained fishermen, motorised boats and a permanent booth on Velankanni beach. 'We can now reach out to people in seconds,' says Jeyaraj. S Selvamani, a fisherman for more than 40 years, was among the earliest to join the Helping Hands lifeguards. Selvamani lost six of his family members, including his father and elder brother, in the Dec 2004 tsunami. 'I was traumatised seeing my family being taken by the sea.
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A year later, I told myself I would not let anyone else die like that again,' says the 58-year-old who now trains younger guards.
Two decades ago, saving lives from drowning was riskier, says Selvamani. There were no megaphones to issue warnings, no boats with motors.
'We would stand chest-deep in the sea for hours, blowing whistles and shouting to keep people from going too far. When someone was in trouble, we would just rush in to save them.'
S Vivek, a fisherman from Velankanni who has been a lifeguard for more than 10 years, now leads the Helping Hands team. He's been going to sea since he was 16. His day begins at 3am with fishing, and once he is done selling his catch by 9am, he is on the beach till 6pm, on lifeguard duty.
'People panic when they're swept away. They fight the waves and get exhausted. When we reach them, they sometimes try to pull us under,' says the 37-year-old.
Another major problem, says Vivek, are intoxicated swimmers. 'They ignore warnings and flail around in panic. Rescuing them is hard. It is sometimes easier when they start to lose consciousness,' he adds.
Most people rescued are rushed for medical aid, and the team performs CPR until the ambulance arrives. 'The failed rescues take a toll on us mentally, especially when it's children or teenagers,' says Vivek.
Footfalls at Velankanni peak during Christmas, Easter, New Year, and the annual St Mary's Nativity Festival, says S Arputharaj, parish priest at the Velankanni Shrine Basilica.
'Helping Hands is a big support in those times, especially with thousands visiting the beach every day.'
Last Sept saw footfalls of more than a million people at the Velankanni Shrine Basilica. 'It is so overwhelming during the festival days that we now close access to Velankanni beach during the annual St Mary's Nativity festival,' says K Ramesh Kumar, inspector from Tamil Nadu Police's Coastal Security Group.
Ramesh says police consider 'Helping Hands' as their first response arm during emergencies, like the community initiative 'Friends of Police' (FOP).
The lifeguards say they do not remember the names of those they have saved. 'Sometimes, people we have saved recognise us. They come up, remind us of what happened, and thank us. That's our reward,' says Selvamani.
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