TEAM HERALD
CANACONA: A fishing trip ended in a tragedy when a 26-year-old man and his sister drowned at Agonda beach late Monday evening.
Joslyn Fernandes (29) and her brother, Jason (26), were pulled into the sea after Jason’s legs got entangled in the net, which they had cast into the sea.
According to reports, Joslyn, her husband, Cadgon, and Jason had gone fishing with a net (Kantali) on the Agonda beach at about 7 pm.
Jason’s legs got entangled to the net and he got pulled right into the rough sea. Noticing her brother struggle in the sea, Joslyn ~ a mother of two children ~ tried to rescue Jason but she too was pulled in by the strong currents, even before her husband could do anything to save them.
A local, who was strolling on the beach, heard the alarm and rushed to their rescue, but he could not sight the siblings as they were carried into the sea by the strong waves.
A wave then brought Joslyn towards the shore and she was immediately grabbed by her husband and the locals, who had gathered at the site.
Joslyn was rushed to the Community Health Centre, where she was declared dead on arrival.
Meanwhile, a frantic search was launched by hundreds of locals at the beach to trace Jason, who incidentally had arrived in the State barely a fortnight ago after having done his duty on a ship.
Frantic calls were made to the police, fire service personnel and the Coast Guard, with former Agonda sarpanch Jovi Fernandes even making a call to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
Fernandes was particularly irked that the taluka administration failed to react to his distress calls.
“Despite requests, the police refused to provide me with the contact number of the collector,” claimed Fernandes.
When contacted, Canacona Deputy Collector Prashant Shirodkar was surprised that the victims had gone fishing in the rough sea and that too, after dusk.
