Four fishermen from Chennai's Kasimedu fishing harbour who went missing after their mechanised boat capsized off the Andhra Pradesh coast during Cyclone Murasu have been found dead, a senior official told the Press Trust of India on Thursday, November 5. Nine fishermen were aboard the boat when it capsized, and search operations are continuing for the remaining five.

Source: PTI via India Today

"Four bodies of Tamil Nadu fishermen who went missing after their boat capsized off the Andhra Pradesh coast during Cyclone Murasu have been recovered," Prakasam District Collector P Raja Babu told PTI. Three of the bodies washed ashore at Kothapatnam, while the fourth was recovered during search operations, he said.

The fishermen had left Chennai on October 29 and were advised to move their boats to safe locations because of the approaching cyclone, PTI reported. Four boats were subsequently anchored along the Andhra Pradesh coast — three at Ramayapatnam Port and one at Nizampatnam Port. On November 3, the nine fishermen aboard the boat anchored at Nizampatnam began travelling towards Ramayapatnam to join their colleagues without informing the Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu authorities. The boat was caught in the severe cyclone and strong winds while heading towards Ramayapatnam and later capsized, Babu said.

The vessel, bearing registration number TN 02 MM 2584, was owned by a Kasimedu fisherman identified as Selvalagan, PTI reported on November 4. Fellow fisherman Sathish Kumar said communication with the boat was severed at 3 pm on November 3; the crew had been instructed to return to shore due to the rough weather but could not make the journey, and had dropped anchor alongside another vessel. The fishing community submitted formal complaints to the Assistant Director of Fisheries, the Coast Guard and state ministers, seeking immediate intervention, and families appealed for Coast Guard ships and helicopters to be deployed.

Separately, Hyderabad Mail reported that a fishing boat washed ashore at Kothapatnam beach in Prakasam district on Thursday morning and that four bodies were found in connection with it, and that the Indian Coast Guard had deployed a ship and a helicopter to search for the missing Chennai fishermen. Local fishermen at Kothapatnam suspected the washed-ashore boat was connected to the missing crew.

Source: Hyderabad Mail

Severe Cyclonic Storm Murasu crossed the southern Andhra Pradesh coast early on Tuesday, November 3, between Nellore and Narasapur, near Ongole, after forming over the Bay of Bengal. Search operations for the five fishermen who are still missing are continuing, and their families at Kasimedu are awaiting news.