I survived, but lost my family, says lone survivor of Vizag boat capsize

Visakhapatnam: “I lost hope that I would survive,” says Kari Chinna, the lone survivor of the fishing boat that capsized off Visakhapatnam coast on Saturday. Six of his crew members are still missing in the Bay of Bengal.

He was the owner as well as the driver of the boat.Though relieved to be alive, Chinna said the rescue has brought little solace. “I survived, but I lost my family members. We spent so many days together at sea while fishing. There is no happiness in being saved when they are missing,” he said.After spending hours battling rough seas, Chinna had managed to reach a passing merchant vessel, whose crew rescued him. He was later brought ashore by the Indian Navy on Monday evening and is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital.Recalling the tragedy, Chinna said, “We were returning to the Fishing Harbour with a good catch of shrimp and prawns. We even called our families and told them that we were just 10 to 12 nautical miles from the coast and would reach the harbour by 4 pm.”However, weather conditions deteriorated rapidly due to a low-pressure system over the Bay of Bengal, he added.“Kari Chinnayya, a crew member, was inside the boat when huge waves and strong winds overturned it.

He got trapped inside and could not come out,” Chinna recalled.The remaining six fishermen clung to the overturned boat for nearly six hours, from around 3 pm to 9 pm, hoping to survive. When the boat finally sank, they decided to swim towards what they believed was the shore.Chinna said that their fishing boat was equipped with life-saving gear, but the accident happened so suddenly that none of the crew could wear life jackets or alert authorities.

“Our boat overturned within seconds. We had no time to react,” he said.“We swam in the dark for more than three hours. One of our crew members got separated from us and disappeared. Unable to locate him, we continued swimming and finally spotted the lights of a passing ship around 4 am on Sunday,” he said.“My elder brother, Kari Seethodu, could no longer swim. One after another, the others also got separated,” Chinna said.By around 7.30 am, Chinna was the only one who managed to reach the merchant vessel. The crew threw him a life buoy and pulled him to safety.Search operations are continuing to trace the six missing fishermen.