Gopalpur: Eleven fishermen who were stranded for eight hours in the rough sea near Sonepur beach in Ganjam district were airlifted safely Monday by the Coast Guard as Cyclone ‘Asani’ gathered firepower in the Bay of Bengal. Sources said, 11 fishermen from Markandi village under Rangeilunda block had been to Kakinada of Andhra Pradesh to buy fishing nets and boats May 7. After buying the fishing nets and boats worth Rs 11 lakh, the fishermen set off back for home on sea Sunday night.
However, they found themselves stuck in mid sea after the boat’s motor broke down. The fishermen managed to call their family and the village head to inform about their predicament. However, due to the rough conditions in the sea, other fishermen did not want to go out and rescue the ones who were stranded.
Later, following information from the Ganjam collector, the Coast Guard with the help of helicopters from Paradip airlifted all the 11 fishermen and admitted them to a local hospital in the port town for medical check-up. Their conditions are stated to be stable
“We had been to Andhra Pradesh to buy fishing nets and boats. Half-way back home, heavy tides hit the boat and a fan of the motor was broken. We were stuck in the middle of the sea and unable to negotiate through the rough waters due to the high tide in view of the cyclonic storm Asani,” a fisherman informed.
The IMD had said that very high and rough sea conditions are likely to prevail over west-central and adjoining south Bay of Bengal. It had asked fishermen not to venture out in the region from Tuesday for at least two days.