Fishermen Missing off Machilipatnam Coast Found Safe In Kothapalem Beach

KRISHNA DISTRICT: Four fishermen who ventured into the Bay of Bengal and went missing off the Machilipatnam coast in Andhra Pradesh’s Krishna for four days, were found safe near Amalapuram, on Thursday, much to the relief of their families and the district administration. The fishermen informed their relatives were informed over the phone that they were all safe. They said they reached Kothapalem beach near Amalapuram of Dr. Ambedkar Konaseema district.

The missing fishermen were identified as V Chinamastan, R China Nancharaiah, M Venkateswara Rao, and Ch Narasimha Rao. They hailed from Cambelpet, Machilipatnam and ventured into the sea on July 2 in a mechanised boat from Machilipatnam port and on July 3. However, they could not be traced for three days. The boat owner has also lodged a complaint with Machilipatnam Marine police station.

While they were in the Antarvedi coastal area of East Godavari district, a technical problem arose in the engine of a boat, and it stopped moving. The boat had only a simple keypad phone through which they had sent a message to the owner of the boat B Yedukondalu seeking his help that they were stuck in the sea near the Antharvedi area. As the phone ran out of charge, the fishermen in the boat lost contact with the outside world. Since then, the whereabouts of the fishermen were not available.

The District Collector informed Kakinada and Visakhapatnam Coast guards and State Disaster Management and Marine police, and despite searching the fishermen were still untraceable.  Special teams with two helicopters and special boats brought from Machilipatnam were searching the areas surrounding the Kakinada seas since Tuesday. The search ended on a happy note with the fisherman calling and informing about their whereabouts.

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