Thoothukudi
The chank diver, who had gone missing two days ago, was found dead at sea on Wednesday morning. Country and mechanised boat fishers, who were at loggerheads over the incident, would set sail from Thursday onwards following an agreement between the two sides.
The body of J. Chandiston, 23, of Threspuram was found around 8.30 a.m. about 11 nautical miles from Threspuram, said a senior Fisheries Department official.
The two sides reached an agreement after mechanised boats promised to pay ₹ 10 lakh as compensation to the family of the deceased, the official said. The compensation is to be paid within a period of 20 days.
The agreement was reached during a meeting held in the presence of the Joint Director of Fisheries and Thoothukudi Town DSP.
The body was sent for postmortem, and the report is awaited to ascertain the cause of death.
Earlier, following the incident, country craft fishers had claimed that he was caught in the trawl net of a mechanised boat owned by Thomas of Threspuram.
The Fisheries department officials, who did not allow mechanised boats to sail on Tuesday and Wednesday, lifted the ban following the truce. The country boat fishers also went on a strike.
