Konaseema villages breath sigh of relief as seven missing fishermen return home

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The fishermen were accorded a warm welcome at Odalarevu village in Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district on Friday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Seven missing fishermen from Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district of Andhra Pradesh returned home on Friday, ending their 23-day ordeal of being stranded in the Bay of Bengal.

The five coastal villages in the Odalarevu breathed a sigh of relief as the missing fishermen reunited with their families.

On August 3, the fishermen sailed into the Bay of Bengal from Odalarevu fish landing centre in search of Tuna fish. They lost contact with their families on August 5, after their boat engine failed.

The boat with t he seven missing fishermen on board was sighted by local fishermen near Shankarpur fishing habou r in Purba Medinipur district off West Bengal coast.

“We lost our way at around 150 to 200 nautical miles off the Andhra Pradesh coast. Our boat drifted towards the Odisha and West Bengal coasts,” the fishermen said.

The fishermen reached their villages at around 11.30 a.m. on Friday and their family burst into tears of joy.

Surrounded by their loved ones, Karri Rambabu and Kopanati Rama Krishna of Komaragiripatnam village; Kollati Yesudasu Bendamuri Lanka, Kollati Srinubabu and Palepu Santa Rao of Odalarevu; S. Tata Rao of Brahma Samedhyam village of Katrenikona mandal; and Katadi Satish Kumar of Pasuvulanka in I. Polavaram mandal broke into tears.

TDP MLA Vanamadi Venkateswara Rao received the fishermen in Kakinada upon their arrival from West Bengal by road. In Amalapuram, Member of Parliament G. Harish Madhur met them and inquired about their health condition.

During an interaction with Fisheries Department officials, the survivors and their family members thanked the officials for the rescue operation.

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