NEW DELHI - Some 49 Indian fishermen released by Iran reached this country Thursday, a senior official said.

"The fishermen, arrested by the Iranian Coast Guard last year for venturing into the Islamic Republic's territorial waters, were released, following intervention of the Indian government," he said, on condition of anonymity.

He added: "The 44 fishermen reached the southern state of Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai in the morning and were greeted by their family."

One of the released fishermen thanked both the central government and state government of Tamil Nadu for their efforts.

"We were arrested and kept in jail for months. Now that we have been released, we feel very happy about this. We thank both the central and the state governments for their efforts to get us out," Jegan Joseph told the media.