Remaining two bodies of Chennai fishermen found

Ongole: The bodies of the last two missing Tamil Nadu fishermen - Rajesh Kalappan (52) and Narayanan Muniyappan (57) - were washed ashore at Lakshmipuram near Juvvaladinne in Sri Potti Sriramulu Nellore district on Sunday. A fishing trawler, with nine crew members, left Kasimedu harbour in Chennai on October 29 to fish near Nizampatnam in Andhra Pradesh. Cyclone Murasu caught it on November 3 when it was travelling from Nizampatnam to Ramayapatnam. Seven bodies were found on November 5 and 6. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister N Marie Wilson came to Ongole with officials and worked with Prakasam district administration to recover the bodies. Families identified their loved ones by tattoos and other marks. After post-mortem, they took the bodies home and performed last rites. Kothapatnam Marine Police Inspector Ramesh told The Hans India that a group of local fishermen saw the two bodies floating in the sea on Saturday evening.

They had no means to bring the bodies to the shore, so they informed the officials about the location. As the message reached the police at night, the officials decided to recover the bodies the next morning. By Sunday morning, the tide had carried the bodies ashore.

Based on the condition of the bodies, police believe that the two fishermen tied themselves to two plastic cans and jumped into the sea. They thought the cans would keep them afloat even in the rough weather. Their plan failed, and they died in the sea. One of the plastic cans washed ashore on Saturday afternoon, and the fishermen from Chennai recognised it as part of their belongings. The other can was found with the two bodies when they reached the shore.

Police said that the relatives of Rajesh and Narayanan identified the bodies. The bodies were handed over to the families after the legal formalities were completed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Naresh Nandam

Naresh.Nandam[email protected]

Naresh Babu Nandam works as a Special Correspondent at The Hans India and primarily covers the erstwhile Prakasam district. He has a master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and a bachelor's degree in Law. He has around twenty years of experience in print and broadcast journalism. He is a certified Google News Initiative trainer for fact-checking and online verification. Outside his journalism work, he is an OSINT practitioner and takes part in CTF challenges. He is the author of a spiritual thriller titled 'The Amber Scroll', available on Amazon.in.

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