Amaravati: At least two fishermen were killed as Cyclone Gulab, made landfall between the coastal areas of adjacent Indian states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh on Sunday night.
According to reports, a boat carrying six fishermen from Srikakulam district in coastal Andhra Pradesh lost balance in the storm and of them, two fishers have been reported dead while one is missing.
Three of the fishermen from Palasa village swam to safety.
Meanwhile, Fisheries Minister S Appala Raju had called upon the navy authorities to launch rescue operations.
“As per the latest meteorological observations, the cloud bands have touched the coastal regions, and thus the landfall process has commenced over north coastal Andhra Pradesh and adjoining south coastal Odisha,” the IMD said in a statement.
During the landfall, the wind speed of the cyclone was about 90 kmph, an IMD official said.