Cyclone Asani: Eleven fishermen rescued from sea off Odisha coast

BHUBANESWAR/BERHAMPUR: Even as cyclone Asani moved closer to south Odisha and north Andhra Pradesh on Monday, 11 fishermen had a providential escape after being caught in the rough seas near Sunapur off Ganjam coast.

They were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard from their boat, which broke down mid-sea. The ICG deployed its most advanced light helicopter MK III from Coast Guard Air Enclave, Bhubaneswar, to lift the stranded fishermen from the boat and fly them to safety. All the fishermen were from Markandi village of the district.

Sources said defying the district administration's warning in view of the impending cyclone, the fishermen had ventured into the sea for fishing. As the sea became rough, they prepared to return to the shore around noon on Monday, but their boat developed some snag and they were stranded.

The fishermen informed their relatives about their plight. To avoid action for defying the administration’s warning, the fishermen concealed the fact that they had ventured into sea for fishing and claimed they were stranded in rough weather while returning from Vizag, sources said. 

Meanwhile, Asani moved west-northwestwards with a speed of 12 kmph and lay centered at 5.30 pm over westcentral Bay of Bengal, about 390 km south-southeast of Visakhapatnam, 510 km south of Gopalpur and 580 km south of Puri.

"The tropical storm is likely to move northwestwards till Tuesday and reach westcentral and adjoining northwest Bay of Bengal off north Andhra Pradesh and Odisha coasts. Thereafter, it is very likely to recurve north-northeastwards and move towards northwest Bay of Bengal off Odisha coast. It is likely to weaken gradually into a cyclonic storm," said Bhubaneswar Meteorological Centre Director, HR Biswas.

Under its impact, a few parts of Odisha witnessed rainfall on Monday. Jajpur received 37 mm, Bhubaneswar 5.8 mm and Cuttack 9.2 mm rainfall between 8.30 am and 5.30 pm on the day. 

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said a few places received rainfall due to the outer bands of the storm approaching Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.The IMD has forecast heavy rainfall at one or two places in Gajapati, Ganjam and Puri districts on Tuesday, and at one or two places in Ganjam, Khurda, Puri, Jagatsinghpur and Cuttack districts on Wednesday. Heavy rainfall is also likely to occur at a few places in Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Balasore districts on Thursday.

Squally wind speed reaching 40 kmph to 50 kmph and gusting up to 60 kmph is likely to prevail along and off Odisha coast on Wednesday and Thursday.

The State government also said Asani will have no impact on Odisha. Special Relief Commissioner (SRC) PK Jena said there will be medium to heavy rainfall due to the system and the government is fully prepared to face any eventuality.