Amaravati, Aug 28: Seven fishermen from Andhra Pradesh who went missing after venturing into the Bay of Bengal earlier this month returned home safely on Friday, ending a 25-day ordeal that prompted an extensive multi-agency search operation and caused widespread anxiety among their families.
The fishermen, all from Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district, reached Kakinada after officials brought them back from West Bengal. They had been reported missing after leaving the Odalrevu fish landing point on a mechanised fishing boat on August 3.
MLA V. Kondababu, MLC Rajashekhar and district officials received the fishermen on their arrival. Their return marked an emotional reunion with family members who had been waiting for news since contact with the crew was lost.
According to officials, the fishermen had ventured into deep waters off the Andhra Pradesh coast in search of tuna. Communication with their families ceased four days after they left, and they failed to return on their scheduled date of August 12.
As concern mounted, the families approached the authorities, leading to a large-scale search operation in the Bay of Bengal. The search involved the Indian Coast Guard, the Indian Navy and other concerned departments, with support from the Central government.
The operation was intensified on Tuesday with the deployment of 15 Indian Coast Guard vessels and four helicopters to trace the missing boat.
The breakthrough came on Wednesday afternoon when local fishermen near Shankarpur fishing harbour off the West Bengal coast located the missing boat with all seven fishermen on board. The local fishermen provided them with a mobile phone, allowing the stranded crew to contact their families in Andhra Pradesh and confirm that they were safe.
The fishermen later said their boat had become stranded after its engine developed a technical fault. They also stated that they survived without food for more than three days while drifting at sea before eventually reaching the West Bengal coast.
The fishermen have been identified as Kopanathi Ramakrishna, Kollati Yesudasu, Palepu Santa Rao, Kollati Srinubabu, Karri Rambabu, Sangani Tatarao and Kataadi Satish Kumar.
Their safe return concluded nearly four weeks of uncertainty and brought relief to their families after a search operation that spanned multiple agencies and covered a wide area of the Bay of Bengal.
