Calcutta, July 25: A Sunderbans tiger swam about six feet to a mechanised boat on Bay of Bengal last night and pounced on a fisherman.

A group of five who had sailed to the core area of the reserve for fish and crabs were returning to their village in Basanti when attacked by the tiger near Kendo island.

The tiger tore off a part of Amirul Naiya’s abdomen, exposing his entrails. It fled as the others on the boat raised the alarm.

Amirul, 35, lay on the boat bleeding for hours as it sailed towards the nearest town, Sonakhali, about 150km away, through the night. Doctors said his condition was serious.

“There are deep wounds on his left arm and right thigh,” said Asraf Gayen, 30, who was with Amirul. “We had filled our hold with our catch and were on their way back. Near Kendo, we were travelling slowly and chatting under the light of a kerosene lantern. Suddenly, we heard Amirul scream.” Asraf saw the tiger trying to drag him into the sea. “We screamed and hurled whatever we could at the tiger,” he said.

In the Assembly, forest minister Ananta Roy said violation of the ban on entry into the core are was resulting in increasing tiger attacks.