Indian coast guard carries out rescue operation of distressed merchant vessel in western India
by Surya PrakashA chopper from the Indian coast guard rescued a distressed merchant vessel from western India’s Gujarat.
The incident happened in the Arabian sea, 93 nautical miles off the Gujarat coast on July 6.
Visuals show the rescue operation being carried by ALH Dhruv, a chopper of the Indian coast guard.
According to a report, a distress alert was received at 8am on July 6 regarding uncontrolled flooding on the merchant vessel Global King-1, reportedly 185km off the coast of Porbandar.
A rescue mission was launched soon with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) officials alerting all stakeholders. A Dornier aircraft was launched from the Indian Coast Guard air station in Porbandar.
It was learnt that the aircraft dropped a life raft for the crew.
A total of 22 crew members were then rescued from the distressed merchant vessel. The rescue operation was carried out in the midst of adverse weather conditions.
Out of the 22, 20 were Indians with one Pakistani and another Sri Lankan. They were safely brought to Porbandar after being rescued.
The vessel, carrying 6,000 T of Bitumen, was heading towards Karwar, India from Khor Fakkan, UAE.