Coast Guard continues search for 120 fishermen

Efforts are on to bring back nearly 120 fishermen in 16 boats who had ventured into the Bay of Bengal on June 17, East Godavari District Collector Arun Kumar said on Monday. 

"Of the total 31 boats, 15 boats have returned so far. Search is going on to trace another 16 boats. The Coast Guard is conducting search operation in 200 nautical miles area. We expect them to be back by tomorrow evening," said Kumar. He said so far, 90 fishermen have returned and search is on to trace another 120 fishermen in the 16 boats which have not returned. On Sunday, 12 fishermen had reportedly gone missing and government authorities had launched a search operation to trace them. Heavy rains have been lashing the district for last three days, he added.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu also enquired about the missing boats and requested the Reliance Industries, ONGC, Craine energy India Ltd and the Coast Guard to deploy helicopters for search operations.