The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Friday rescued 19 people from a sinking passenger boat in the Arabian Sea in the south of Raigad district in Maharashtra. The boat was carrying 18 Indians and one Ethiopian national.
After the vessel, Motor Tanker Parth, reported flooding around 41 miles west of Ratnagiri coast, a distress call was sent to the Indian Coast Guard.
Two Indian Coast Guard ships and a helicopter was pressed into service for a coordinated rescue operation. The passengers were safely rescued and brought to safe shores.
"Indian Coast Guard today rescued 19 lives, including 18 Indians and 1 Ethiopian Master, from Motor Tanker Parth, a Gabon-flagged vessel. The vessel reported flooding around 41 miles west of Ratnagiri coast. The vessel was on passage to New Mangalore from Khor Fakkan, UAE," the ICG said in a statement.
In June, the Indian Coast Guard rescued 15 crew members of a merchant ship that had run aground off New Mangalore. In a swift search and rescue mission, the Coast Guard saved the lives of 15 Syrian nationals working on the vessel MV Princess Miral, which was bound for Lebanon from Malaysia, IANS reported. The rescue mission was coordinated by Indian Coast Guard ships 'Vikram' and 'Amartya'.
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In May, the Indian Coast Guard airlifted 11 fishermen stranded in Bay of Bengal near Pati Sonapur beach of Odisha's Ganjam district amid rough weather conditions.
The 11 fishermen, coming from Vizag of Andhra Pradesh in a boat, got stuck close to Pati Sonapur beach in Ganjam district. They couldn't negotiate the waves as their boat malfunctioned in the sea.
As the sea was very rough, the Indian Coast Guard launched an operation through air and rescued all fishermen within an hour.