Visakhapatnam: The multi-agency (Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy) 72-hour intense search for six missing fishermen, who went missing in the Bay of Bengal after their fishing boat (IND-AP-V5-MM-83) capsized off the Vizag coast, proved unsuccessful in locating the missing persons and the wreckage of the missing boat. However, the search and rescue operations will continue for the missing fishermen.Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships Kanaklata Barua and Veera, Eastern Naval Command (ENC), two ships and two helicopters, a Sea King and an Advanced Light Helicopter carried out a massive search for the missing fishermen for 72 hours.It may be recalled that six fishermen went missing in the Bay of Bengal after their fishing boat carrying seven of them capsized off the Vizag coast amid rough sea conditions due to low pressure over the Bay of Bengal on Saturday (June 4), with one fisherman, Kari Chinna was rescued by a passing ship.Fisheries commissioner Ram Shankar Naik said on Tuesday met the lone survivor, Kari Chinna, in Vizag city to understand the sequence of events leading to the tragedy. Naik said that the government would extend full support to the families of the fishermen who went missing in the mishap. He said immediate financial assistance and rehabilitation measures would be initiated in accordance with government norms after the stipulated 72-hour search period ends.The fisheries department mentioned that the Indian Coast Guard extended the search and rescue operations till 12 midnight on Tuesday. Based on the report (whether any trace of the missing persons was found or not), a three-member committee comprising the RDO, DSP and AD fisheries department) will prepare a comprehensive report and will process the documentation for granting Rs 5 lakh per to each missing family under group accident insurance scheme.The leaders and activists of the CPM on Tuesday demanded that the Andhra Pradesh government must announce Rs 50 lakh compensation for each family of the six fishermen who remain missing in the mishap. The CPM leaders expressed concern over the delay in tracing the missing fishermen and appealed to the governments to step up the search and find the missing fishermen at the earliest.
