Visakhapatnam: Mayor offers solace to boat accident victims at KGH

Visakhapatnam : Mayor G Hari Venkata Kumari offered solace to fishermen who were injured in the cylinder blast incident that occurred at mid-sea in a fishing boat. Accompanied by YSRCP district president Kola Guruvulu, the Mayor interacted with the fishermen, who are getting treated at King George Hospital, on Saturday.

Following severe burns, some of them are undergoing treatment at ICU in the hospital. Another victim D Srinu’s left leg was damaged in the incident. The Mayor interacted with the family members of the victims and enquired about the condition of the victims.

Nine fishermen were injured as the LPG gas cylinder exploded in a fishing boat mid-sea on Friday. Indian Coast Guard ship Veera on patrol off Andhra coast saved all the fishermen after receiving a radio message from a nearby fishing boat about raging fire onboard Indian fishing boat (IFB) Durga Bhavani at location around 65 nautical miles off Visakhapatnam harbour. IFB Durga Bhavani, an Andhra registered boat, had sailed from Kakinada harbour with nine crew members on March 26.

Following the explosion of the gas cylinder onboard on Friday, the nine fishermen jumped into water to escape but some suffered severe burn injuries in the process. The fishing boat, damaged due to the explosion, sank at the location within a few minutes. The information regarding fire and explosion was relayed to the Coast Guard ship by a nearby boat, which proceeded to pick up the survivors.

Meanwhile, Coast Guard District Headquarters No 6 in coordination with JD Fisheries Visakhapatnam arranged ambulances along with medical teams to evacuate critically injured crew. The injured fishermen were shifted to King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam for further treatment.