Andhra Pradesh government has sought the help of Coast Guard and Marine Police to launch a search for six fishermen, who have gone missing at sea after they ventured into the Bay of Bengal last week.
"On June 15, six fishermen had ventured into the Bay of Bengal from Machilipatnam Fishing Harbour in a mechanised boat for fishing. Two days later, they sent a message to the boat owner Vasanth Rao informing him that they were stuck in the sea and sought his help," Fisheries Department Deputy Director T Jaya Rao said.
The boat owner then sent a boat to rescue the fishermen, though they could not be traced, Rao said adding, "There was no further communication from them."
According to Rao, based on the directions of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Excise Minister K Ravindra have sought the help of Coast Guard and Marine Police to trace the fishermen.
While two of the six fishermen were from Gilakaladindi area of Machilipatnam, four others hailed from Nellore.
"The search operation would continue till the fishermen are rescued. The government will take all steps for the welfare of the fishermen families," Machilipatnam MLA and Minister for Excise K Ravindra told PTI.
In a similar case, twelve fishermen, who had ventured into the Bay of Bengal from Kakinada six days back, have also gone missing and government authorities have launched a search operation to trace them.
