Berhampur:
Six fishermen from Andhra Pradesh, who were missing for a week, have been rescued by local fishermen in Gopalpur area of Odisha's Ganjam district, the police said today.
The fishermen, who belong to Upada in East Godavari district, had ventured into the sea in a small trawler on July 31. Trouble began when their vessel developed a snag and went into deep waters, unable to return.
Local fishermen spotted the vessel in the sea and brought them ashore on Tuesday, they said.
The rescued fishermen were then taken to New Boxipalli, a fishermen village near Gopalpur, about 30 km from Berhampur.
"We were forced to spend about a week in the sea without proper food and water," said G Ramesh, one of the rescued fishermen, while narrating their ordeal at sea.
"It's a new birth for us," said another fisherman.
Ganjam district administration examined their health and made arrangement for their safe departure. The authorities were in touch with their counterpart East Godavari administration, Ganjam district collector Krishan Kumar said.
The district administration has also made arrangement to repair the fishing vessel.