VISAKHAPATNAM: “I survived, but I don’t know how. I watched my brother, my nephew and other family members disappear one by one in front of my eyes. We kept swimming, hoping someone would rescue us, but there was no one,” recalls Kari Chinna, the lone survivor among the seven fishermen whose boat capsized off the Visakhapatnam coast, leaving six others missing.
Still shaken by the experience, Chinna says the physical struggle to stay afloat through the night was matched only by the emotional trauma of watching his family members vanish into the rough sea, powerless to save them.
The seven fishermen had set out from the Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour aboard mechanised fishing boat IND-AP-MM-V5-83 on July 1.
After spending three days fishing in the Bay of Bengal, the fishermen began their return journey on July 4 as sea conditions deteriorated under the influence of a low-pressure system.
Survivor: Still can’t digest what happened to them
Around 2.30 pm, the crew called their families to say they were about 10 nautical miles off the Visakhapatnam coast and expected to reach the harbour within an hour.
According to Chinna, soon after the call, one of the crew, Kari Chinnayya, went inside the boat where the fish are stored. Minutes later, powerful waves overturned the boat. Chinnayya became trapped inside the boat and could not be rescued. The remaining six fishermen climbed onto the overturned hull and stayed there for nearly six hours as waves continued to batter the vessel. “Around 9 pm, the boat began to sink. With no option left, we entered the sea and began swimming in the hope of reaching the shore. After swimming for about three hours in darkness, we realised one member of the group was no longer with them. Unable to locate him, the remaining five continued,” he stated.
By around 4 am, they spotted the lights of a merchant vessel in the distance. But exhaustion had begun to overwhelm them. Chinna’s elder brother, Kari Seethodu, told the others that he could not swim any further, and urged them to continue without him. The remaining four pressed on through the rough sea. Hours later, only Chinna managed to reach the vessel around 7.30 am. Crew members aboard the Panama-flagged merchant vessel MV Universe Wealthy spotted him struggling in the water, threw him a lifebuoy and pulled him to safety. Looking back, Chinna says the rescue brought relief but no joy. “I was saved, but I left behind everyone who had gone to sea with me. I still cannot digest what happened to them,” he said.
Search operations re continuing to trace the six missing fishermen.