Missing fishermen: Kin cling to hope as search yields no trace

Visakhapatnam: The families of six fishermen who went missing after their fishing boat (IND-AP-V5-MM-83) capsized in the Bay of Bengal on Saturday continued their anxious wait on Monday, even as search and rescue operations by the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy failed to yield any breakthrough.With each passing day, hopes of finding the missing fishermen alive are fading. However, family members remain desperate for any information about their loved ones, while fisherfolk leaders fear the worst given the rough sea conditions and the lack of clues so far.“I want my husband to come back home,” said Laxmi, wife of 24-year-old Amara Appala Raju, one of the missing fishermen. Married in October 2025 and seven months pregnant, Laxmi broke down as she appealed to authorities to trace her husband.

“No one is telling me where he is. I request the authorities to find him,” she said.Lakshmi’s relatives, Anil and Durga, said the family was struggling to come to terms with the tragedy. “We never imagined such a disaster would strike our family. Lakshmi had many plans with her husband and their unborn child. She is still hoping that he will return, but given the rough sea conditions, we have very little hope,” they said.

Meanwhile, Kavya, daughter of another missing fisherman, G Bandiyya, said the family’s sole breadwinner had vanished without a trace. “On Saturday afternoon, my father called and told us that they were returning to the fishing harbour with a good catch and would reach by around 3.30 pm. But the boat never arrived and we lost contact with him,” she said.Kavya added that not only her father but also her brother-in-law, K Garagayya, had gone missing in the incident.

“Despite everything, we have not lost hope and are praying for a miracle,” she said.Karri Masenamma, wife of Karri Chinna, who owned and operated the ill-fated boat and was rescued by a passing merchant vessel, expressed relief over her husband’s survival. However, she remained deeply worried about the fate of the six missing fishermen, all of whom are relatives of Chinna and natives of Mukkam village in Bhogapuram mandal of Vizianagaram district.The families of the missing fishermen staged a protest at the Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour, demanding that authorities intensify search and rescue efforts.Some relatives alleged that delays and lack of coordination among agencies hampered the initial response, affecting the chances of locating the missing fishermen. They urged authorities to continue the search operation until all those missing are traced.