Seven of the nine fishermen who sailed out of Chennai’s Kasimedu fishing harbour on 29 October 2026 are dead. Their mechanised trawler’s engine failed in the middle of Cyclone Murasu, off the Andhra Pradesh coast, and the boat drifted helplessly through the night. Two men are still missing. Tamil Nadu has announced ₹7 lakh for each family — but the questions piling up around this tragedy are bigger than the compensation: no navigation transponder on board, no proper commercial insurance, and a crew that may have had almost no financial protection at all.
This is what happened, what the families will actually receive, and what every fishing family should check before the next boat leaves harbour.
What happened off the Andhra coast
Nine fishermen left Kasimedu fishing harbour on Thursday, 29 October 2026, aboard a mechanised trawler owned by Selvazhagan, carrying provisions for ten days. The boat’s driver was Pakkirisamy, also known as Suriya, aged 49. Two days later, on 31 October, the Tamil Nadu fisheries department issued a cyclone warning advising fishing boats to take shelter in nearby harbours as Cyclone Murasu approached the Andhra Pradesh coast.
The crew took shelter at Nizampatnam fishing harbour in Andhra Pradesh. What happened next is disputed — and that dispute is now at the centre of a promised inquiry. Prakasam district Collector P. Raja Babu told The New Indian Express that the boat had anchored safely inside Nizampatnam harbour and then decided to sail south towards Ramayapatnam to join other Tamil Nadu vessels, without informing anyone. G. Manivannan, vice-treasurer of the Chennai Mechanised Boat Fishermen Welfare Association, disputes this, saying the boat had anchored outside the harbour in a sheltered bay commonly used by fishing boats during rough weather.
What is not disputed is the distress call. At around 3 am on Tuesday, 3 November, a nearby boat owned by Venkatesh Rajendran received a call from the trawler: the engine had failed, water was entering the engine room amid heavy rain, and the navigation system had broken down. The trawler had drifted about 20 nautical miles while heading towards Ramayapatnam. The neighbouring boat was itself struggling to pump water out of its engine room and could not reach the trawler. The alarm was relayed to other boats and to Tamil Nadu officials, who sought aerial assistance from the Coast Guard’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre. The owner sent two mechanised boats to search, but they found nothing.
The timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| 29 Oct 2026 | Nine fishermen sail from Kasimedu fishing harbour, Chennai, on a mechanised trawler owned by Selvazhagan; provisions for 10 days. |
| 31 Oct 2026 | Tamil Nadu fisheries department issues cyclone warning; boats advised to shelter in nearby harbours. |
| 2 Nov 2026, ~6 pm | Owner contacts driver Pakkirisamy (Suriya) and crew member M. Kuppan (48); on learning the vessel is at sea, warns them about severe weather and advises halting at Ramayapatnam. |
| 3 Nov 2026, ~3 am | Distress call: engine failed, water entering engine room, navigation broken; boat drifts ~20 nautical miles. Cyclone Murasu strikes the Andhra coast in the early hours. |
| 5 Nov 2026 | Five bodies recovered along the Kothapatnam shoreline, Prakasam district, Andhra Pradesh. CM C. Joseph Vijay announces ₹7 lakh solatium per family. |
| 5–6 Nov 2026 | Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson reaches Ongole to coordinate with Andhra officials; Indian Coast Guard search intensifies; AP CM N. Chandrababu Naidu orders intensified search. |
| 7 Nov 2026 | Seven bodies recovered in total; two fishermen still missing. Five bodies handed over to families in Kasimedu. |
Seven dead, two still missing
As of Saturday morning, 7 November 2026, seven of the nine fishermen have been found dead. The deceased have been identified as Mohan (47), Murugan (48), Pakkirisamy (49), Vijayakanth (44), Kuppusamy, Kuppan (48) and Aravindh (40). The two still missing are Rajesh of Thiruchinankuppam and Narayanan of Samiyarpettai in Cuddalore district. Search operations involving the Indian Coast Guard, marine police and local fishermen were continuing.
Five of the recovered bodies were handed over to their families in Kasimedu on Friday, 6 November, and two more were being brought from Andhra Pradesh. The Tamil Nadu government is bearing the full cost of transporting the bodies from RIMS Hospital in Ongole back to Kasimedu.
What the families will receive
Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, condoling the deaths, announced a solatium of ₹7 lakh for the family of each fisherman. Of this, ₹2 lakh is to be disbursed immediately — Fisheries Minister A. Srinath visited the bereaved families in Kasimedu and handed over the first cheques — and the state is transporting the bodies home at its own expense.
| Support | Amount / detail | Status |
|---|---|---|
| State solatium (Tamil Nadu) | ₹7,00,000 per family | Announced 5 Nov 2026; ₹2,00,000 immediate |
| Body transport (Ongole → Kasimedu) | Full cost borne by Tamil Nadu government | Under way |
| PMMSY Group Accidental Insurance (if enrolled) | Up to ₹5,00,000 for death / permanent total disability | Families must check enrolment with district fisheries office |
| Search for the two missing men | Indian Coast Guard + marine police + local fishermen | Continuing as of 7 Nov 2026 |
One figure families should check immediately is the PMMSY insurance. Under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana’s Group Accidental Insurance Scheme, fishers aged 18 to 70 are covered for ₹5 lakh against death or permanent total disability, ₹2.5 lakh for permanent partial disability, and up to ₹25,000 for accidental hospitalisation — with the entire premium paid by the Centre and the states, so fishers pay nothing. The Centre has released ₹149.07 crore in premiums since the scheme began, covering 167.30 lakh fishers, including 21.99 lakh in Tamil Nadu, according to the fisheries ministry’s March 2026 reply in Parliament. But the cover only helps if the fisherman was actually enrolled. Families of the Kasimedu crew should ask the district fisheries office to confirm enrolment status now, not later.
The uncomfortable questions
Tamil Nadu Finance Minister N. Marie Wilson, who camped in Andhra Pradesh to coordinate the search, told reporters the ill-fated boat lacked mandatory safety gear, proper commercial insurance and vital regulatory documents. That single sentence is the heart of this story — because it suggests the crew went to sea with almost no safety net.
The Chennai Mechanised Boat Fishermen Welfare Association flagged a related gap: when a boat owner takes out insurance for the vessel, it usually carries only a basic component of about ₹1 lakh for all crew members combined. Against a ₹7 lakh state solatium, that is a strikingly thin layer of protection for nine men risking their lives at sea.
There are other questions a detailed inquiry — promised by the Finance Minister — will have to answer:
- Why did the boat leave shelter? The Collector says it sailed from inside Nizampatnam harbour towards Ramayapatnam; the fishermen’s association says it never entered the harbour. The answer decides whether this was a judgement call in bad weather or a communication failure.
- Why was there no navigation transponder? Without one, the authorities could not track the vessel’s exact location once the distress call came in — precious hours were lost.
- Why did the engine fail, and was the boat seaworthy? The crew reported water entering the engine room. The owner, Selvazhagan, has been booked on a complaint that he compelled the nine-member crew to venture into the sea.
- Was the rescue fast enough? DMK MP Kanimozhi criticised the state government for allegedly failing to launch an immediate rescue operation and demanded higher relief than the ₹7 lakh announced. The fisheries department says it ordered search and rescue operations as soon as it learnt of the disappearance.
The bigger picture: a coast under repeated battering
This tragedy did not happen in isolation. Cyclone Murasu followed Cyclone Arnab barely a week earlier, and coastal Andhra Pradesh’s fishing communities were already reporting cumulative losses above ₹36 crore from repeated weather bans since June — Arnab alone cost them nearly ₹20 crore through a mandatory six-day fishing ban, according to fisherfolk leaders. When boats are forced off the sea again and again, the pressure to sail in marginal weather grows — and so does the risk.
That pressure is exactly why the safety and insurance gaps matter. A boat that sails without a transponder, without proper insurance and without full safety gear is a gamble, and this week nine families are paying for it.
What fishing families should check before the next trip
No checklist can undo this loss. But three checks cost nothing and could matter the next time a boat puts to sea:
- Confirm PMMSY insurance enrolment. Ask your district fisheries office whether every crew member is enrolled under the Group Accidental Insurance Scheme (₹5 lakh death cover, ages 18–70, no premium from fishers). Keep the enrolment details with the family, not only on the boat.
- Check the boat’s papers and safety gear. Valid registration, commercial insurance that names the crew, life jackets, a working navigation transponder and a charged communication device. If any of these is missing, the boat should not sail.
- Respect the warning, and stay in shelter. When the fisheries department issues a cyclone warning, boats are advised to take shelter in the nearest harbour — and to stay there until the all-clear. A sheltered boat earns nothing; a boat that sails into a cyclone can lose everything.
- Know the credit support available. Fishers and fish farmers can access Kisan Credit Cards, with the lending limit raised from ₹2 lakh to ₹5 lakh from 2025–26, to meet working-capital needs without turning to informal lenders after a bad season.
For families of the Kasimedu crew, the immediate steps are practical: collect the ₹2 lakh immediate relief from the fisheries department, confirm PMMSY insurance enrolment for the deceased with the district fisheries office, and keep the boat owner’s and the association’s contact details for the inquiry.
Frequently asked questions
How many fishermen died in the Cyclone Murasu boat tragedy?
Seven of the nine Kasimedu fishermen who sailed on 29 October 2026 have been found dead as of 7 November 2026. Two — Rajesh and Narayanan — remain missing, and search operations are continuing.
How much compensation will the families receive?
Tamil Nadu has announced ₹7 lakh per family, with ₹2 lakh paid immediately. If the fisherman was enrolled under PMMSY’s Group Accidental Insurance Scheme, the family may additionally be eligible for up to ₹5 lakh. The state is also paying to bring the bodies home from Andhra Pradesh.
Why did the boat sink?
The crew’s distress call at around 3 am on 3 November reported engine failure, water entering the engine room and a broken navigation system. The exact sequence is under inquiry, and accounts differ over whether the boat had sheltered inside Nizampatnam harbour.
What is the PMMSY insurance cover for fishers?
Under PMMSY, fishers aged 18–70 get ₹5 lakh cover for death or permanent total disability, ₹2.5 lakh for permanent partial disability and up to ₹25,000 for accidental hospitalisation, with the premium fully paid by the Centre and states.
Where can fishers check their insurance enrolment?
At the district fisheries office, or through the PMMSY portal at pmmsy.dof.gov.in. Families of the Kasimedu crew should confirm enrolment status as soon as possible.
Related reading
- Murasu Hits Andhra at 1 AM: Fishers Told to Stay Off Sea — our report on the cyclone’s landfall and the warnings issued to fishing boats.
- After Arnab, AP Fishers Demand Boat Insurance Now — Andhra fishermen’s demand for boat insurance after Cyclone Arnab, a week before Murasu.
- ₹5 Lakh Fisher Cover: The 120-Day Claim Rule to Know — how the PMMSY insurance claim process works, and the deadline families must not miss.
- Cyclone Arnab: Odisha Fishers Get ₹60,000 for Boats — how Odisha’s relief package for cyclone-hit fishers compares.
Sources: The New Indian Express (6 Nov 2026); The Hindu (5 Nov 2026); The News Minute (7 Nov 2026); Deccan Chronicle (6 Nov 2026); PTI via ThePrint (6 Nov 2026); The Times of India (5 Nov 2026); DT Next (7 Nov 2026); Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying (24 Mar 2026). Figures as reported on 7 November 2026; the search for the two missing fishermen was continuing at the time of publication.