Coast Guard saves 32 lives during three operations

The Coast Guard saved 32 people in three different operations concurrently at New Mangalore, Goa and 590 nautical miles off Mumbai coast.

While 27 crew members onboard a grounded barge were rescued from south of old Mangalore port on June 3 and 4, a critically ill light house staff member was rescued from Vengurla Rock Light House on June 4.

The Coast Guard, which is the nodal agency for search and rescue in Indian Search and Rescue Region (ISRR), rescued four crew members of a sailing boat, which had got drifted due to engine failure, off Mumbai coast on June 3.
 

In the first operation, Coast Guard Karnataka Headquarters received a message from New Mangalore Port Control regarding flooding onboard barge 'Ibis', grounded south of old Mangalore port.

"The barge with 27 crew onboard was engaged in the construction of breakwater for old port and got grounded due to rough sea conditions and started flooding," a Defence spokesperson said.

"On receipt of the distress alert, the Coast Guard immediately swung into action and diverted CG ship Amartya, which was patrolling off Karnataka coast to provide necessary assistance," the spokesperson said.

The ship reached near the grounding site at about 6.40 pm on June 3 and rescued four crew members braving very high waves and inclement weather.

The rescue operation recommenced on June 4, at 6 am.

"The valiant efforts of ICGS Amartya and CSP resulted in rescuing all 27 crew by 8.25 am," he said.

In the second incident, Coast Guard at Goa evacuated a critically-ill (suffering chest pain) staff of Light House authorities from Vengurla Rock Light House.

At about 5.40 pm on June 3, the light house authorities approached the Coast Guard to evacuate a staff member manning the light house, who had reported chest pain, he said.

The operation was undertaken with first light on June 4 as night operation was not possible from the light house.

A Coast Guard helicopter was launched from Goa and the light house staff was safely evacuated to mainland at about 8 am and handed over to light house authorities.

In the third operation, the Coast Guard Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai received a distress alert on May 31 from a sailing boat Lady Thuraya registered at British Virgin Islands, which was sailing from Male to Salalah, Oman.

"The position was over 590 miles from Mumbai. Reacting swiftly to the situation, the Coast Guard raised an 'International Safety Net', wherein ships in the vicinity were requested to look for the distress boat.

"One of the merchant ships, MV Seacor Diamond sailing to UAE was able to contact the sailing boat on VHF on June 3 and was continuously guided by Coast Guard MRCC," the spokesperson said.

"The sailing boat in distress was located at about 1.15 pm on June 3, at about 390 miles from Mumbai. MV Seacor Diamond intimated that all four crew of the sailing boat were safe and healthy, but the boat had drifted because of engine failure and no power onboard since three days," he said in a statement.

"Immediate assistance was provided to the crew and the ship along with the sailing boat which is expected to reach Mumbai by June 7," he said.