Fears for the safety of eight fishermen mounted on Monday as their families reported them unreachable for the last ten days, prompting the district administration to ask the Indian Coast Guard units of Kakinada and Visakhapatnam to a launch a search operation and alert the State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMA) about the missing incident.

At least eight fishermen have lost contact with their families since August 7 after they ventured into deep-sea fishing in the Bay of Bengal from the Odalarevu boat landing centre in the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district.

On August 3, they began their voyage at Odalarevu in a mechanised boat in search of Tuna fish along the Andhra Pradesh coast. On August 7, they moved towards the Odisha coast, however, their return was planned for August 10.

Six of the eight missing fishermen belong to Odalarevu village and they were identified as Karri Ramudu, K. Ramakrishna, S. Thatharao, Esudasu, Palepu Santarao and Kollati Srinivas. The remaining two on board belong to Kakinada.

Explaining the timeline of the incidents, District Collector R. Mahesh Kumar told The Hindu, “The eight members went on a single mechanised boat for deep-sea fishing that normally extends up to ten days. They have updated their family members that they were further moving towards the Odisha coast during their last conversation on August 7.”

“By Monday, they were not reachable by phone. We have asked the Indian Coast Guard [Kakinada and Visakhapatnam] to launch a search operation for the eight fishermen. The State Disaster Management Authority has also been alerted,” Mr. Kumar said.

The missing fishermen had a sufficient stock for 17 days. “They have stored 1,000 litres of diesel as against 600 litres required for their voyage, and commodities and rice stored in their boat are sufficient for 17 days. The commodities and rice are expected to support them till August 20,” said Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Konaseema District Joint Director (Fisheries) K. Karunakar.

Published - August 17, 2026 09:01 pm IST