They held on to each other and some floating cans

By Desaraju Surya
Machilipatnam: The killer tsunami claimed thousands of lives across several Asian countries, but 15 bravehearts from a tiny island village of Krishna district beat it back with their drive to battle all odds. These 15, from two fishing families of Sorlagondi village in Nagayalanka mandal, went into the jaws of death but used their determination to come out only with a few scars. "We fought death and came out triumphant," recalled Kopparati Lanka Raju showing scars left by the killer waves all over his body. On Sunday morning, Lanka Raju had set out to sea with his family and members of Panabaka Subba Rao’s family in two boats. The sea was rough around 8.30 am but they had no inkling of the impending danger. As they steered their boats deeper into the Bay of Bengal, the waves began rising menacingly. And, around 9.15 am, massive columns of water tossed their boats and threw them overboard. Though both the boats were destroyed, oil and water cans in the boats came to their rescue. Experts in swimming against the tide, these fishermen held on to each other even as the sea turned ferocious. Holding each other’s hands and latching on to the cans, they battled the waves for over three hours before they reached the shore. Exhausted when they reached shore, there was no one around to help them. So, they gathered courage, walked a few kilometres and reached an island village. By then they were bruised. Villagers came to their rescue and rushed them to a hospital in Nagayalanka. Doctors at there acted swiftly, gave them all help and tended to them. In one voice, Lanka Raju, Sivanageswara Rao, Subba Rao and Panabaka Ravulamma thanked the almighty for giving them a rebirth.