MUSCAT: Two Omani fishermen, who went missing after setting off on a fishing trip in the Sea of Oman, from Al Ashkharah in South Al Sharqiyah Governorate, have returned home after 11 days.
Ali al Jaafari and Salem al Jaafari received a rousing welcome at the Muscat International Airport on Monday night. Huge crowd from their village and across the country was there to welcome them.
Their survival story sans adequate food and water in a tiny fishing boat in the open ocean for 10 days might sound like a chapter straight out of a Hollywood movie.
The two fishermen, Ali and Salem, went on a fishing trip off Ashkharah coast on June 9. Unfortunately, their boat’s engine failed at the middle of the sea. Without any satellite devices to contact home, they drifted in the open ocean aimlessly for almost 10 days.
They survived on just 4 litres of water until they were found by a Pakistani merchant vessel passing through the area. The ship’s crew rescued them and helped them to alert the authorities and relatives back home.
Oman’s Embassy in Karachi with the help of Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency received them at Karachi and ensured medical aid.
Ali and Salem were flown to Muscat with the help of authorities concerned on Monday night.
For Ali and Salem, surely, this is like a second birth and they are thankful to the Almighty, Omani and Pakistani authorities.
