The six fishermen who went missing on a mechanised boat off Machilipatnam coast since June 17 were finally traced 140 kilometres off Sagar Island in Bay of Bengal off West Bengal coast on Friday.
A team of the Coast Guard sighted them at around 8 a.m. as part of their search operation. Speaking to The Hindu over phone, an officer from the Deputy Inspector General of Coast Guard, West Bengal confirmed that all the six fishermen were safe while one among them was suffering with dehydration.
According to West Bengal Coast Guard Commander Sanatan Jana, the fishermen were being transported on Coast Guard vessel, Rajkiran, and expected to arrive at Port of Haldia by Saturday afternoon.
The mechanised boat in which the fishermen sailed for fishing got damaged and hence it was left there on the sea waters. On being informed about the rescue of the missing fishermen, the Andhra Pradesh State Government has sent a team of officials to West Bengal to bring them back to Gilakaladindi village in Krishna district.
Two fishermen among the six belong to Gilakaladindi village and the rest hail from Nellore District. “The family members of the fishermen have been informed about the status. Measures are being taken taken to bring them back to their families”, said Excise and B.C. Welfare Minister K. Ravindra.
The Minister also thanked the efforts of the Coast Guard authorities who joined the search operation conducted along the Eastern Coast since June last week.
