Six families are left waiting with unanswered questions after a fishing trip ended in disaster off the Visakhapatnam coast. One man’s remarkable survival now stands as the only witness to hours of courage.
Image Source: IANS
What began as a normal fishing expedition ended in one of the most heartbreaking sea tragedies off the Visakhapatnam coast. The only survivor of the accident has now shared his painful story, describing how seven fishermen were caught in disaster when their boat overturned in the Bay of Bengal.
After days of hope and an extensive rescue mission, authorities have officially ended the search for the six fishermen who remain missing. The Andhra Pradesh government has announced financial assistance for their families as they struggle to cope with the loss.
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The survivor, Kari Chinna, said that seven fishermen had travelled nearly 29 nautical miles into the sea for fishing. After completing their work, they started their journey back to the coast.
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According to Chinna, everything appeared normal until the boat came within about 10 nautical miles of the shoreline. Without warning, vessel suddenly overturned.
He recalled that one fisherman died immediately after boat capsized. The remaining six managed to hold onto the overturned boat, hoping they could survive until help arrived.
Describing the terrifying hours that followed, Chinna said the survivors clung to the upside-down boat for nearly nine hours in the open sea.
For hours, the overturned vessel acted as their only support against the waves. But as time passed, damaged boat slowly began sinking deeper into water.
Realising they could no longer depend on it, the fishermen made the difficult decision to leave the boat and swim in an attempt to save themselves.
The sea, however, proved too dangerous. Chinna became separated from the others during the struggle.
Doctors treating Chinna said the boat accident took place at around 3.30 p.m. on Saturday, July 4.
Despite exhaustion and rough sea conditions, he continued swimming and floating in the Bay of Bengal for nearly 18 hours.
His life was finally saved on Sunday morning at around 9 a.m., when the crew of the Panama-flagged merchant ship MV Universe Wealthy spotted him in the water and rescued him.
The rescue marked the end of a long battle for survival that few could have endured.
After being rescued by the merchant vessel, Chinna was later transferred with the help of the Indian Navy.
He was airlifted from the ship to INS Dega on Monday evening before being taken to KIMS ICON Hospital for treatment.
Doctors have confirmed that his condition is stable. Medical teams continue to monitor his recovery after the severe physical and emotional trauma he experienced during the incident.
The fishermen had left for their fishing trip on July 1.
As weather conditions worsened because of a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal, their families became increasingly worried.
Before communication was lost, the fishermen had informed their relatives over mobile phones that they expected to return to the coast by the afternoon of July 4.
When the boat did not arrive and all mobile phones became unreachable, family members immediately alerted the Coast Guard and Marine Police.
Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard launched major rescue effort to locate the missing fishermen.
The operation continued for four days, with teams searching waters off Visakhapatnam coast.
Despite extensive efforts, rescue personnel were unable to trace the six missing fishermen. On Tuesday, officials officially called off the search operation after finding no further signs of the missing men.
The fishing boat involved in the accident was owned by Kari Chinna. Officials said it had suffered a mechanical failure before it capsized while returning from the fishing trip.
After the rescue mission was officially ended, the Andhra Pradesh government announced financial support for the affected families.
The state will provide Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the family of each of the six missing fishermen.
The assistance is aimed at helping the families, many of whom depended on fishing as their primary source of income.
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