Six missing fishermen from Andhra Pradesh return home

The six fishermen who had gone missing from Machilipatnam coast on June 15 and were later rescued from 300 km south of Haldia port in West Bengal by the Indian Coast Guard, were brought back today, an Andhra Pradesh fisheries department official said.
According to the fisheries department official, all six fishermen were rescued on July 3 and brought to Haldia on July 4 by the Indian Coast Guard.
The six fishermen, namely K Venkateswarlu (34) from Thadichettupalem in Nellore district, K Chitti Babu (25) from Chinaramudupalem in Nellore district, K Balaiah (26) from Nutukuru in Nellore district, K Jalaiah (68) from Vetapalem in Prakasam district, T Nagaraju (25) from Machilipatnam in Krishna district and Saikam Nagur (40) from Machilipatnam in Krishna district had ventured out into the sea for fishing on June 15 from Machilipatnam fishing harbour, after which they lost contact due to their boat's mechanical problem, the official said.

The Krishna district administration had alerted the Indian Coast Guard as well as authorities in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the official said.
The Indian Coast Guard identified them in the Bay of Bengal at 150 nautical miles from Haldia in West Bengal a few days ago and informed the Andhra Pradesh state government, which deputed a senior fisheries department officer to bring them back, the official said.
District Collector A Babu met them here on Monday after their arrival, inquired about their health and wished them, the official said.
He also made arrangements send them to their native places, the official said.