A passenger ferry operating between Kankesanthurai in northern Sri Lanka and Nagapattinam in India was stranded at sea for several hours on Friday night after suffering an engine failure, according to Indian media reports.

The ferry had departed Kankesanthurai at around 2.30 p.m. and was expected to reach Nagapattinam within about four hours. However, the vessel arrived only around 10.45 p.m. after encountering rough sea conditions and a mechanical failure.

According to the Hindu, the ferry, carrying 144  passengers, developed engine trouble near Kallar, about two nautical miles off the Nagapattinam coast.Indian authorities and local fishermen were deployed to assist the stranded vessel before it was slowly towed back to port. All passengers were reported safe.The ferry service linking Kankesanthurai in Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsula with Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu was relaunched to strengthen passenger connectivity between the two regions.