“My heart breaks for my boys”: lone survivor of Visakhapatnam boat capsize; search on for six
“The ship’s crew saved my life, but my heart breaks for my boys,” said Kari Chinna, the only one of seven fishermen to survive after
“The ship’s crew saved my life, but my heart breaks for my boys,” said Kari Chinna, the only one of seven fishermen to survive after their boat capsized off the Visakhapatnam coast on July 4. By his account, he last saw three of his crew swimming towards the lights of a passing ship before the waves pulled them away. Six of the crew are still missing, and the search went into its second day on Monday (July 6, 2026). The mechanised fishing boat left the Visakhapatnam Fishing Harbour on July 1 for a routine fishing trip. It was scheduled to return to the port by the afternoon of July 4. But the vessel failed to reach the harbour as planned. The last contact with the crew was on July 4, when they told their families that they were off the Gangavaram coast and were preparing to head back to shore. Soon after this, the vessel met a sudden and violent shift in weather. "We were stranded in the water for nine hours as our vessel sank. I tried to offer a life jacket to pull [a companion] up, but he was lost to the sea...," a fisherman who survived a boat capsize off Visakhapatnam coast recounts the hours his crew spent in the sea. 📹 Arrangement pic.twitter.com/MPxGIQsol8 — The Hindu - Andhra Pradesh (@THAndhra) July 6, 2026 The seven crew members aboard have been identified as the boat owner and driver, Kari Chinna, along with the six missing fishermen, Amara Appalaraju, Kari Garagayya, Kari Chinnaya, Kari Seethodu, Raguthu Bandiyya and Meda Chinna Ammoru.
Most of the fishermen are from Mukkam village in Bhogapuram mandal, with Raguthu Bandiyya from Peda Nagamayya Palem in Bheemunipatnam mandal of Visakhapatnam district. Kari Chinna was rescued by the Panama-flagged merchant vessel MV Universe Wealthy, which has a crew of 21 Chinese nationals, on July 5 and is safe and healthy. Coast Guard and Navy ships and aircraft continue the search off Visakhapatnam for six fishermen missing since their boat capsized on July 4. The Coast Guard has deployed the ICGS Kanaklata Barua and the ICGS Veera, and flown three helicopter sorties. Video: Special Arrangement pic.twitter.com/6RVsyGs2Ys — The Hindu - Andhra Pradesh (@THAndhra) July 6, 2026 By his account, high waves and strong winds swamped the boat, and it capsized. The crew clung to the overturned vessel, but the rough sea tore six of them apart and swept them away. “We were on the way back on July 4, and all of us spoke to our family members, saying we would dock by 3 p.m. The calls were made around 2 p.m., but within an hour the weather turned violent. Strong monsoon winds began rocking the boat and the sea swell turned very high, and suddenly the engine failed. At that point we were about 10 to 12 nautical miles off the Gangavaram coast,” Kari Chinna said.
The BriefWire