The bodies of five fishermen from Tamil Nadu were found off the Kothapatnam beach in Andhra Pradesh

The bodies of three fishermen from Tamil Nadu washed ashore at Kothapatnam in Ongola on Thursday, while the bodies of two other fishermen were later found in the sea by Indian Coast Guard (ICG) officials at Nizampatnam port.

Using a Dornier aircraft, ICG personnel in coordination with Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) Chennai personnel launched a search and rescue (SAR) operation to locate five other fishermen who were aboard the same boat that sank 2 km from the shore.

According to sources, three boats left Tamil Nadu for fishing on October 29, 2026. Due to the impact of Cyclone Murasu, two boats were safely anchored near Ramayapatnam port on November 2 (Monday), while the third boat proceeded towards Nizampatnam port.

Nine fishermen in the third boat left Nizampatnam to meet the other two teams in Ramayapatnam on November 3 (Tuesday). Due to a storm at sea and intense wind, their boat drifted towards the coast of Adani Krishnapatnam harbor and capsized.

The nine were identified as Pakkirisamu Suriya (driver), Kuppan, Mohan, Rajesh, Murugan, Kuppusamy, Vijayakanth, Aravindh and Narayanan. While Narayanan was from Cuddalore, all the remaining were from Chennai.

Prakasam District Collector P. Raja Babu, who was in Kothapatnam to inspect the polling process for the local body elections, visited the spot where the fishermen’s bodies washed ashore. ”Identification of the bodies will take place after the family members and officials from Tamil Nadu arrive,” he added.

“Further arrangements for transporting the bodies and bringing the overturned boat ashore will be taken in consultation with Tamil Nadu officials,” the collector said.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson, along with the family members of the deceased fishermen, reached the RIMS Hospital mortuary in Ongole for identification of the bodies.

Andhra Pradesh Fisheries Commissioner Rama Shankar Naik and District Collector P. Raja Babu accompanied Tamil Minister Naidu. Family members identified four bodies. He said the bodies will be taken to Tamil Nadu after police investigation and post-mortem.

“I express my gratitude to the Andhra Pradesh government for its cooperation. We hope to recover the remaining bodies soon,” Mr Wilson said.

A plea from families

The families of the fishermen who are still missing have urged the state government to take steps to find them.

Bharatheeswaran, Pakkiri’s son, said his father spoke to his mother on the evening of November 2.

“It seems that the ship had a problem on November 3. We heard that the engine was not working and water had entered it. They sought help from nearby ships and when one of them arrived at the scene after three hours, the distressed ship was missing,” he said.

Chennai Mechanized Boat Owners’ Welfare Association president ME Raghupathi said from the information gathered, it is believed that the boat was anchored in the bay at Kavali where the cyclone made landfall. “In such a situation, no one can bathe in the sea. A team of fisheries department officials and fishermen have gone to Ongole GH. We have also called divers from Thoothukudi to bring underwater cameras to search for the boat.”

Community leader MD Dayalan said: “The boat should not have been allowed to leave the fishing port. Many boats do not have safety equipment. The ministry does not conduct surprise checks on the boats to see if the GPS devices, life jackets and distress signal equipment are working. The government must take steps to trace the men because if the body is not recovered, the family will have to wait seven years to get compensation,” he said.

Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Thursday announced a solatium of ₹ 7 crore each to the families of the fishermen whose bodies washed ashore and ordered that ₹ 2 crore be paid to each immediately. He also ordered that arrangements be made to bring the bodies to Tamil Nadu at the government’s expense and hand them over to the families.

(With inputs from Deepa H. Ramakrishnan and R. Srikanth in Chennai)

Published – 05 Nov 2026 20:21 IST