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Eight fishermen from Ambedkar Konaseema district in Andhra Pradesh went missing after venturing into the sea from Odalarevu on August 3, District Collector R. Mahesh Kumar said.
The incident has raised concern among their families, with authorities stepping up efforts to trace the fishing boat and locate the fishermen. The boat, owned by Kopanati Ramakrishna Varma of Komaragiri Patnam village in Allavaram mandal, had left the Odalarevu jetty through the Vainateya river-sea confluence for fishing. The fishermen were carrying provisions and diesel expected to last around 15 days and were scheduled to return by August 13. However, the boat failed to return, and the fishermen have not made contact with their families. Their mobile phones and the GPS device installed on the boat are also reportedly not working. After waiting for four days beyond the expected return date, the boat owner's family alerted the Coastal Security Police at Odalarevu and district authorities. Konaseema District Collector has sought the assistance of the Indian Coast Guard in Visakhapatnam to trace the missing vessel and rescue the fishermen. Preliminary information suggests that the boat may have moved towards the Visakhapatnam-Paradip coastal stretch for fishing. The Fisheries Department confirmed that eight fishermen, including boat owner-cum-driver Kopanati Ramakrishna Varma, were aboard the vessel. The Collector directed Fisheries Department officials to coordinate immediately with the Coast Guard and other rescue agencies. He also instructed officials to work closely with District SP Rahul Meena and gather all available information from the boat owner's family and other fishermen to assist the search operation. Officials have been asked to maintain continuous coordination and monitoring and immediately report any information concerning the location and safety of the missing fishermen to the district administration. (ANI)
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