Providential escape for German tourists in Chinese net mishap in Fort Kochi

A group of six German tourists, who arrived in Kochi on an international cruise, had a providential escape after they fell into the sea when a wooden plank on which they were standing to pull a traditional Chinese fishing net gave way in Fort Kochi on Friday around 11 a.m.

Fishing workers operating the net and local residents rescued them, though some lost valuables such as mobile phones, cameras, and wallets. The narrow wooden plank attached to the Chinese net was reportedly old. The tourists were part of a group of around 15 visiting Fort Kochi.

The Fort Kochi police registered a case against two operator-owners of the Chinese net. They were booked under relevant sections of the Kerala Police Act for violating public safety. Fishing workers along the coast often invite tourists, especially foreigners, to operate the nets for a fee as part of their local touring experience, a common but unauthorised practice in Fort Kochi. The wooden planks leading to the nets are narrow, aged, and prone to collapse.

“We convened a meeting of Chinese net operators and issued a directive to end the unauthorised practice being carried out without following safety guidelines. Operating the Chinese net is a skill reserved for specialists,” said police sources.

K.H. Haneesh, a local resident of Fort Kochi, said good fortune alone saved the tourists, as the spot where they fell was very deep due to its proximity to the estuary. “It is the beginning of the tourism season, and a tragedy would have affected the season and damaged the State’s reputation, not to mention the shame it would have brought to God’s Own Country. The Chinese nets of Fort Kochi are a global tourism attraction, and it is a shame that we are not even able to conserve them. The authorities simply pay lip service to Fort Kochi’s tourism potential but have not implemented any worthwhile project here in a long time,” he said.

The project to renovate the Chinese nets has been pending for years, said M.P. Sivaduttan, Chairman of the Kerala Homestay and Tourism Society (Kerala-HATS). “It has been over a decade since ₹5 crore was allocated to renovate the wooden platforms of the Chinese fishing nets. High-value timber meant for the project can still be seen rotting in many parts of Fort Kochi alongside the nets. The agency entrusted with executing the renovation had little expertise in the matter,” he said.

Mr. Sivaduttan added that complaints and suggestions for the upkeep of heritage-rich and historic Fort Kochi had gone unheeded by the agencies concerned.