More than 800 Olive Ridley turtles, which came to lay eggs on the beaches of Nellore in Andhra Pradesh, have died, it was reported on Tuesday.

N.V. Sivarama Prasad, District Forest Officer, Nellore, said such large-scale deaths of Olive Ridley turtles had not been reported from the Andhra Pradesh coast in the recent past. The deaths were caused mainly by the use of trawl nets by fishermen. Local fishermen used only gill nets, which did not pose a threat to the turtles.