A mechanised fishing boat caught fire in the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Visakhapatnam, on September 15 (Sunday).
Five fishermen onboard escaped by jumping into the sea and catching another boat that was passing by.
Fishermen associations cited mechanical fault as the reason for the blaze, and put the property loss at around ₹40 lakh.
A.P. Fisheries Department in-charge Joint Director G. Vijaya, who reached the fishing harbour to investigate the incident, promised to take the incident to the notice of the government for further action.
The officer received information that the boat (INDAPV5MM 495) had left for fishing in the morning and caught fire at around noon, forcing its crew — V. Gurumurthy, R. Narsimhulu, G. Ramu, U. Sattayya and S. Appanna — to jump into the sea and catch another boat (INDAPV5MM 894) belonging to A. Dhanaraju to reach the shore safely.
Meanwhile, president of the A.P. Mechanized Fishing Boat Operators’ Association M. Lakshmana Rao said it was unfortunate that the boat caught fire at sea.
A total of six boats were involved in accidents, which included two similar instances at sea, since June 15, when fishing resumed after the annual ban period, he said.
“The government should provide compensation to the damaged boat and financial aid to the fishermen on the lines of assistance provided to the farmers. Only then the fishing sector and those who depend on it will be able to sustain themselves,” Mr. Lakshmana Rao said.
He further said that Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat promised to take up the issue of providing compensation with the government
Published - September 15, 2024 08:47 pm IST
