Local fishermen rescued 17 pilgrims after the van in which they were travelling to Dhanushkodi on the marshy terrain got stuck in a ditch after being hit by the waves when the sea became rough on Wednesday afternoon.
Sources said the pilgrims, including eight women and children from Tirunelveli, engaged the van service at Muhuntharayar Chathiram to visit Dhanushkodi in the afternoon. The mishap occurred after one-km-long drive.
The pilgrims panicked after they were caught in the water. They chose to remain in the van as the water level rose to waist deep. Van drivers took another van from Muhuntharayar Chathiram and reached the spot to rescue the pilgrims, but that van too got stuck in the slush.
Finding the two vans ‘marooned’ and the pilgrims crying for help, local fishermen rushed to the spot and rescued them. The fishermen formed a human chain and helped the pilgrims reach the road nearby and walk back to Muhutharayar Chathiram.
National Highways has made ready a new road to Dhanushkodi and up to Arichalmunai, the eastern end of the island, covering a distance of 9.5 km, from Muhuntharayar Chathiram at a cost of about Rs. 66 crore, but it is yet to be thrown open for traffic.
As the road awaited formal inauguration, scores of pilgrims, who visited the island, took the risky and rough van rides to reach Dhanushkodi as they believed that their pilgrimage could not complete without a visit to the sacred place.
