Marine police in India rescued five missing fishermen on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. They found them at sea near Krishnapatnam Port in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh. The men had been at sea since 29 October.
All five were taken to Krishnapatnam Port. Then they went to a hospital in the port area for medical checks. The district collector said they will go home after the checks. A district collector is the head of the local government in an Indian district.
What happened
The five men are from a fishing village in Chirala mandal, Bapatla district. A mandal is a small local area in Andhra Pradesh. Their ages are 30 to 60. They left on 29 October in the fishing boat IND AP P1 MO 3025 0001.
The boat did not come back when it should have. The boat owner told the authorities. On the orders of the district collector, Himanshu Shukla, the marine police and local officials searched with a patrol boat. They found the men on Tuesday morning, Deccan Chronicle reports.
A local fisherman told The Hindu what happened. He said the men went out after Cyclone Arnab. They did not know about the new Cyclone Murasu and went far out to sea. Sudden rain and strong wind turned their boat over, he said. The police and officials have not given their own account of the cause.
Two cyclones in one week
Cyclone Murasu was a severe cyclonic storm. It crossed the coast near Ongole, Andhra Pradesh, early on 3 November. Winds were 100 to 110 km/h, with gusts up to 120 km/h, the state weather office said. Cyclone Arnab had hit the same coast about a week earlier. Read how the Coast Guard rescued 20 crew from the ship Sigma Pearl during Cyclone Arnab.
Before Murasu arrived, the weather office told fishermen not to go to sea until 4 November. Rough seas often go on after a storm has passed the coast.
Storms in the Bay of Bengal have put many small boats in danger this autumn. In Sri Lanka, four fishermen were found alive far out at sea after Cyclone Arnab.
What fishermen and crews can do
Check the weather warning every time before you go to sea. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) posts warnings for fishermen on its website. Local fisheries offices and radio also give them.
Weather can change fast in the cyclone season. If you are already at sea when a warning comes, go back to port or to shelter at once.
Carry a radio or a phone that works at sea, and keep it charged and dry. A distress beacon is even better. It sends your position to rescuers automatically.
In India, call the Coast Guard on the free number 1554 if you are in danger at sea. It works from a mobile phone.
Tell your family or the boat owner where you are going and when you will come back. Here, the owner raised the alarm when the boat did not return. That started the search.
Wear a lifejacket on deck in bad weather. If the boat turns over, stay with it if you can. A boat is easier to see from the air and the sea than a person.
Find emergency numbers and helplines in Crewboard's useful links for seafarers.
Cover photo: Fishermen push their boat through rough sea at Bheemunipatnam, near Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, in 2015. Illustrative photo, not the boat in this story. Photo: Adityamadhav83/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped).
Sources: The Hindu: Five fishermen rescued near Krishnapatnam Port after boat capsizes (3 Nov 2026), Deccan Chronicle: Five missing fishermen rescued at sea (4 Nov 2026), Deccan Chronicle / ANI: Cyclone Murasu, AP MET Director warns fishermen against sea ventures (3 Nov 2026), India Meteorological Department (IMD): Warnings for fishermen, Times of India: Now toll free number 1554 for maritime help (2019).
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