13 Bangladeshi Fishermen Wash Ashore In Srikakulam After 20 Days At Sea

Etcherla (Andhra Pradesh): As many as 13 Bangladeshi fishermen who reportedly drifted into Indian territorial waters are being tracked in Srikakulam district, a police official said on Monday.

According to police, the fishermen, all natives of Bangladesh’s Bhola district, reached Srikakulam beach on Sunday after their boat’s engine broke down at sea.

“They (fishermen) said they left Dhaka on November 10 for fishing and were pushed into Indian waters due to strong winds in the last 20 days,” Srikakulam Superintendent of Police KV Maheswara Reddy told PTI. he said.

The fishermen told authorities they only carried enough food to last seven days and survived mostly on the water for the rest of the voyage.

Reddy said local fishermen spotted the foreign ship and informed the police.

Officials later confirmed that the boat had entered India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which extends up to 200 nautical miles and requires mandatory permission from Indian authorities.

Police said the entry constitutes an offense under Sections 3 read with 10 and 7 read with 4 counts of the Indian Maritime Zones Act, 1981.

Local authorities have notified their counterparts in Bangladesh and additional procedures are ongoing.