Express News Service
AHMEDABAD: Personnel of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued 22 people in the Arabian sea, 185 km from Porbandar coast in Gujarat, after a distress alert was received on Wednesday.
All 22 crew (20 Indians and one each from Pakistan and Sri Lanka) are safe and are being brought to Porbandar.
“Around 8.20 am, the ICG received a distress alert regarding uncontrolled flooding onboard merchant vessel Global King-1. The ship was reportedly 185 km off the Porbandar coast. The ICG immediately responded and alerted all stakeholders. Despite adverse weather conditions, one Dornier aircraft was launched from Porbandar at 9 am for assessment of the situation and relaying of information to the vessels in the vicinity,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
“The Dornier on reaching the area dropped a life raft for the crew. ICG Ship Shoor and CG Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) already at sea were also directed to immediately reach the area,” said the release.
A Dornier aircraft, two indigenously-built twin-engine Advanced Light Helicopters, and two ships were involved in the search and rescue operation, a senior ICG official said, adding that the crew members were picked up by the choppers and ships from the sea.
The ICG ship braving rough seas proceeded to the area.
The indigenously acquired twin-engine Advanced Light Helicopters from ICG Air Station Porbandar were also launched in Search & Rescue (SAR) configuration for any eventuality.
The helicopters operated close to their operational maximum and braved squally weather and strong winds to reach the area. Thereafter, in a sea-air coordinated effort, all 22 personnel were successfully rescued, the release said.
ICG Inspector General, (North West), Anil Kumar Harbola, said, “In the morning we got the information from our Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, Mumbai, which is handled by the Coast Guard, that a ship which was on the passage from Khor Fakkan (UAE) to Karwar (India) got flooded in between.”
He added: “When our helicopters reached the area (where the vessel was sinking), the scared crew members had already abandoned the ship. They were picked up by the choppers and ships diverted by us.”
Crew lifted amid adverse weather conditions
The merchant vessel, Global King-1, was transporting 6,000-tonne bitumen from Khor Fakkan (UAE) to Karwar (Karnataka).
The crew, after failing to stop the flooding onboard the ship, abandoned the vessel. Earlier in the day, the India Meteorological Department had said that extremely heavy rainfall may occur on July 8 and 9 at some places in Porbandar and five other districts of Gujarat due to the low-pressure area over the Kutch region.
Meanwhile, heavy rains have disrupted normal life in Gir Somnath and Junagadh districts.
