Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay has announced compensation of Rs 7 lakh each for the families of fishermen who died after their mechanised boat suffered an engine breakdown off the Andhra Pradesh coast, while search operations continue for those still missing.
The chief minister said an immediate payment of Rs 2 lakh would be disbursed to each bereaved family. He also directed officials to arrange the transport of the recovered bodies to Tamil Nadu at the state’s expense and hand them over to their families.
Nine fishermen had left Chennai Fishing Harbour on October 29. After the Tamil Nadu fisheries department issued storm and severe weather warnings, they anchored their boat at Nizampatnam Fishing Harbour in Andhra Pradesh. According to a statement issued by the chief minister, the crew communicated by wireless radio with fishermen on another mechanised boat in the early hours of November 3.
The crew reportedly said they had left for Ramayapatnam Port on the night of November 2 and that their boat’s engine had failed in the middle of the sea. Contact with the vessel was lost after that transmission, and its exact location could not be established.
Three bodies recovered along the Kothapatnam coast in Prakasam district have been identified as those of S Mohan, 47, A Murugan, 48, and C Vijayakanth, 44. Two other bodies have also been recovered but are awaiting formal identification. The remaining missing fishermen have not yet been located, according to the report.
The incident has involved rescue coordination across state and maritime agencies. The Tamil Nadu fisheries department was directed to launch intensive search-and-rescue operations using fishing boats from Chennai and Andhra Pradesh, along with Indian Coast Guard vessels, in coordination with Andhra Pradesh authorities and the families of the missing fishermen.
The episode highlights the operational risks faced by mechanised fishing crews working across state coastal waters, where bad weather, engine failures and difficulties in establishing a vessel’s location can quickly become life-threatening. For families dependent on fishing income, the state’s announced relief is also tied to the administrative process of identifying victims, transporting bodies and continuing the search for those unaccounted for.
The chief minister directed officials to expedite the formal identification of the two recovered bodies and intensify the search for the remaining missing fishermen. Search operations are continuing along the Andhra Pradesh coast.
