Kakinada: All 11 fishermen had a miraculous escape after their boat caught fire and capsized in sea 26 nautical miles off the coast from Bhairavapalem in I. Polavaram mandal of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district on Friday.
The fishermen had gone into the sea three days ago. While returning on Friday to shore, there was a short circuit in the engine and the boat caught fire.
Miraculously for the fishermen, an ONGC vessel was sailing nearby. Its personnel immediately rushed to the spot and threw life-saving buoys at the fishermen who had jumped into the sea to escape fire. The ONGC vessel crew then picked them up using their boat.
Meanwhile, an Indian Coast Guard vessel led by commanding officer Venu Madhav rushed to the spot. The ONGC vessel crew handed the fishermen over the Coast Guard crew.
Fisheries department joint director P.V. Satyanarayana said the fishermen had taken a gas cylinder along with them for cooking. But when the engine short circuited and emitted sparks, the gas cylinder caught fire and burst, following which the boat caught fire.
Satyanarayana said owing to ONGC, all the fishermen are safe and have reached their homes.
Driver of the fishing boat P. Nukaraju of Bhairavapalem said they turned their boat back following the cyclone warning, when the accident occurred.
