Konaseema: A fisherman, who fell from the top of a boat in the sea swam the whole night in the sea before he was brought ashore by other fishermen ending his 120-hour-long ordeal.
Gedala Apparao from Kakinada, who along with five other fishermen came to Antarvedi Harbour in Sakhinetipalli mandal of Konaseema district of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday morning after fishing from Kakinada area on a boat from Machilipatnam, and slipped in the turbulent sea, shared his nightlong ordeal. The fisherman had a happy hinting as fish he caught along with others were sold, until the time disaster struck him. In the afternoon, they went catching up in the sea as usual.
At night, they put a net in the sea and slept after having dinner. Fellow fishermen said that Apparao was nowhere to be found when they got up in the middle of the night. They said that he may have slipped from the boat. Apparao said that when he came to one side of the boat to urinate, he slipped off and fell into the wave presumably around 11 pm. He said that because there was nothing to hold on to, he was blown away from the boat by the wind. While swimming and floating in the sea, a small boat was seen on Wednesday.
Fishermen from Rajipet of Nakkapalli mandal of Visakha district, who went for catching fish from Antarvedi, noticed him and rescued him. They also brought him to the shore. Raju was sent to the government hospital in an ambulance for treatment. Apparao's family and locals acknowledged the help of Rajipet fishermen.
