Visakhapatnam, July 16 (IANS) Two fishermen were injured while five others had a narrow escape when a boat in which they had set off for fishing met with an accident near Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour in Andhra Pradesh on Thursday, police said.

The boat overturned due to rough sea conditions. The fishermen were trapped under the boat. They managed to push the boat aside and reach the nearby boulders and were later rescued by the marine police.

Two fishermen Thatha Rao and Akash were injured in the incident and were admitted to King George Hospital.

The fishermen said their boat, worth Rs 2.5 lakh and other equipment costing Rs 2 lakh were completely damaged in the incident. They appealed to the government to provide them financial assistance to save their livelihood.

The incident occurred days after six fishermen lost their lives after their boat capsized off the Visakhapatnam coast.

A mechanised fishing vessel, carrying seven fisherfolk, capsized just 10 nautical miles off the Gangavaram coast in Visakhapatnam on July 4. Six of the seven fishermen who went into the sea for the catch were presumed to be dead.

The fishermen had set out for fishing on July 1. The boat capsized while they were returning to the coast. One of them was rescued by the crew of a merchant vessel and was brought to the coast on July 6.

The fishermen remained untraced after a four-day-long search and rescue operation by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. The search operation was called off on July 8.

The state government distributed an ex-gratia of Rs 10 lakh each to the families of the six fishermen.

Former Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy who consoled the families of the six fishermen, squarely blamed the negligence of the coalition government led by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu for the death of six fishermen and demanded compensation of Rs one crore each for the affected families.

He said the boat capsized just 10 miles away from Gangavaram Port and not a single official responded despite repeated pleas from the affected families.

He claimed that the family members repeatedly called and sent SOS messages to the Collector and other officials, but there was no response. Had there been one, the other fishermen could have been rescued. All seven persons had set sail, but only one returned with great difficulty, and the government did not respond in the way it should have, he said.

–IANS

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