40 boats gutted in Visakhapatnam fishing harbour fire, loss over ₹30 crore

While the fire has been successfully brought under control, the cause is yet to be ascertained. Foul play not ruled out. More than 40 mechanised boats were gutted when a massive fire broke out in the fishing harbour of Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam early on Monday, police said. The fire erupted in one of the boats harboured at a jetty around midnight, triggering in an explosion of its diesel engine. Soon, the fire spread to adjacent boats and the entire Viskahapatnam fishing harbour was engulfed inthe blaze. A group of fishermen present at the harbour raised an alarm and alerted the police. “Soon after coming to know about the fire mishap, the police rushed there along with three fire tenders, followed by another three fire tenders to extinguish the fire. Around 40 boats were reduced to ashes,” Deputy Commissioner of Police, Visakhapatnam, K Anand Reddy told reporters.