A group of six German tourists who had arrived in Kochi on an international cruise had a narrow escape after falling into the sea when a wooden plank they were standing on gave way at Fort Kochi around 11 am on Friday to pull out a traditional Chinese fishing net.
Fishermen manning the net and local residents rescued them, although some lost valuables such as mobile phones, cameras and wallets. The narrow wooden plank attached to the Chinese net was said to be ancient. The tourists were part of a group of about 15 visitors to Fort Kochi.
The Fort Kochi police have registered a case against the two operator-owners of the Chinese network. They were booked under relevant sections of the Kerala Police Act for violating public safety. Fishermen along the coast often invite tourists, especially foreigners, to operate their nets for a fee as part of their local tourist experiences, a common but illegal practice in Fort Kochi. The wooden planks leading to the nets are narrow, aged and prone to collapse.
“We have convened a meeting of Chinese network operators and issued a directive to end unauthorized practices carried out without following security guidelines. Controlling China’s network is a skill reserved for specialists,” police sources said.
KH Haneesh, a local resident of Fort Kochi, said that only luck saved the tourists as the place where they fell was very deep due to the proximity of the river mouth. “It is the beginning of the tourist season and a tragedy would affect the season and damage the reputation of the state, not to mention the shame it would bring to God’s own country. The Chinese nets of Fort Kochi are a global tourist attraction and it is a shame that we are not even able to save them. The authorities are just paying lip service to the Fort Kochi tourism project, which would have cost a long time but failed to realize any tourism potential here.”
The project to renovate the Chinese grids has been pending for years, said Kerala Homestay and Tourism Society (Kerala-HATS) MP Sivaduttan. “It has been more than a decade since ₹5 crore was allocated to refurbish the wooden platforms of Chinese fishing nets. The high-value timber meant for this project can still be seen rotting in many parts of Fort Kochi next to the nets. The agency tasked with carrying out the renovation had little experience in this matter,” he said.
Mr. Sivaduttan added that complaints and suggestions for the maintenance of the heritage-rich Kochi historical fort have gone unnoticed by the concerned agencies.
Published – 21 Nov 2025 20:57 IST
