KAKINADA: A search is underway for six fishermen who went missing in the sea after the boat's engine stalled off Visakhapatnam coast. The fishermen last contacted the officials of the fisheries department around 8:30 am on Sunday, and sought their help, before going incommunicado.
The district authorities have alerted the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). Boat owner Kasarapu Kanna Rao and five others, all from Parlopeta in Kakinada, had set out to sea from Vizag on March 30. The boat broke down three days later, when it was 15 miles off Bheemunipatnam and 22 miles from Vizag, and started drifting in the sea.
Officials said the boat was carrying 400 litres of hi-speed diesel, and 1,000 litres of water, but no life jackets or buoys.The relatives of the fishermen met the newly appointed collector Kritika Shukla on Monday, and sought her help in ensuring their safe return.