Thiruvananthapuram: Several people from Chengannur, whom he had saved during the floods, attended the funeral ceremony of the young fisherman Jineesh Gerone on Sunday at St Thomas Church, Poonthura.
Jineesh, 23, son of Gerone and Selvi of Poonthura died in a motor vehicle accident at Pazhaya Uchakkada on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. The post-mortem was completed on Saturday. However, funeral was scheduled a day later.
According to Jineesh’s friend Silvadasan Antony, who is also member of Coastal Warriors, the bill at the hospital was around Rs 1.75 lakh. However, the hospital management decided not to charge a single penny and released the body after receiving information from chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s office about the role of Jineesh during the floods.
Jineesh lived in a rented house along with his parents and two younger siblings after their home was destroyed in Ockhi cyclone. Jineesh was part of a seven-member team called Coastal Warriors, who had participated in rescue operations in Chengannur region. Those saved by Jineesh included 30 inmates of an orphanage in Chengannur.
The accident took place on Friday afternoon at Pazhaya Uchakkada when Gerone was pillion riding the bike of his friend Jagan. They were on the way to Chinathurai fishing harbour to find a job in the trawling boats there. When the motorcycle skidded off the road Jineesh fell before a truck that was travelling in the opposite direction. The truck ran over his legs.
Though, an emergency surgery was held at NIMS Hospital at Neyyatinkara, where he was rushed immediately, he succumbed to the injuries around 3 am on Saturday.
After class 12, Jineesh started venturing out into the sea at the age of 15. He and his family lived in a rented house after their house got destroyed by the sea’s fury three years ago.
