NEW DELHI, July 5 (Xinhua) -- At least six fishermen have gone missing after a fishing boat carrying them was suspected to have capsized off the Visakhapatnam coast in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, officials said Sunday.
A local newspaper quoted Lakshman Rao, an official of the fishing boats association in Visakhapatnam, as saying that one fisherman from the fishing boat had been rescued by a passing cruise ship.
The boat was supposed to have capsized amid rough weather conditions in the sea off the coast in Visakhapatnam district, about 405 km northeast of Amaravati, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh, local media reported.
According to officials, search operations were initiated in the area immediately after family members of the missing fishermen reported that they had lost contact with them.
Local media reports said the fishermen had told family members that they would return to the harbor by Saturday evening.
"At present, the personnel from the Indian Coast Guard and Marine Police are trying to trace the missing fishermen," an official said.
Reports said the fishermen ventured into the sea from Visakhapatnam fishing harbor on July 1 aboard a mechanised fishing boat.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday ordered a search-and-rescue operation. ■
