Guwahati News Desk: Two fishermen from Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh lost their lives in the cyclonic storm named “Gulab” in Bay of Bengal on Sunday evening, while another still remained missing.
As per the sources, three more fishermen successfully reached the shore and called the state Fisheries Minister S Appala Raju over phone from Akkupalli village and informed him that they were safe.
Regarding the complete incident, a total of six fishermen from Palasa, were returning to their native village by sea in a new boat they purchased in Odisha two days ago. To their dismay, they were caught in the storm. One among the six called his village over phone and informed that their boat lost balance and five of his fellow fishermen were lost in the sea. Subsequently, his mobile phone too went silent, indicating that he too might have gone missing. However, three of them swam to safety while two others perished. Also, the one who made the first phone call still remained untraced and his fellow fishermen feared that he might have been trapped in the ill-fated boat.
On receiving the news, the Fisheries Minister immediately contacted the Navy authorities and a rescue operation was carried out.
The three north coastal districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam had been receiving moderate to heavy rain under the influence of Gulab.
The State Disaster Management Authority Commissioner of Andhra Pradesh, K Kanna Babu, said that the storm “Gulab” lay centered around 85 km from Kalingapatnam in Srikakulam district and was likely to cross the coast between Kalingapatnam and Gopalpur (in Odisha) around midnight.
Further reviewing the situation with the district Collectors and other officials in Visakhapatnam, he directed them to be on high alert. He also informed that the NDRF and SDRF teams had been positioned in the three north coastal districts for rescue and relief operations.
Moreover, in Srikakulam district, a total of 182 persons from Vajrapukothuru mandal were moved to relief camps, due to the worsening scenario.
Photo | Representative Image
