Surviving Fisherman Chinna in Boat Tragedy Recalls Ordeal
On July 4, the seven fishermen of the ill-fated boat owned by Chinna had been returning to Vizag harbour with tonnes of catch and loads of smiles, when tragedy struck.
Visakhapatnam:Kare Chinna, the lone survivor of the boat tragedy in which seven fishermen had gone missing off Vizag coast, recalled his ordeal and how he escaped from the jaws of death.
On July 4, the seven fishermen of the ill-fated boat owned by Chinna had been returning to Vizag harbour with tonnes of catch and loads of smiles, when tragedy struck.
“I phoned my family and informed them that we were just 10 to 12 nautical miles off the Vizag coast and expected to reach the harbour by 4 pm on July 4. However, the sea conditions changed our fate,’’ Chinna said.
According to him, before the boat capsized in the rough seas, one of the crew members Kari Chinnayya went inside the boat in the afternoon. The rough tides and strong gales flipped the boat upside down, resulting in Chinnayya trapped inside the boat. He never came out. The remaining six people managed to cling to the overturned boat from 3 pm to 9 pm on that fateful day, says Chinna.
However, the rough seas dislodged them from the overturned boat. Chinna said he spent hours swimming through rough seas in the Bay of Bengal, when got sighted by a passing merchant vessel. The vessel’s crew rescued him.
Indian Navy brought Chinna safely ashore on Monday evening. He is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.
“I had lost hope. But luck rescued me. My six-member crew, all of them my relatives, have disappeared in the Bay,” Chinna lamented.