ICG rescues 4 fishermen from boat stranded in Gulf of Mannar due to inclement weather

In a swift operation, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Monday evening rescued four fishermen from a stranded fishing boat near Muyal Theevu island in the Gulf of Mannar. The fishing boat was reportedly stranded at sea since that morning and was drifting away from land due to inclement weather.

The rescued fishermen were taken onboard the hovercraft and provided with first aid, food and water, the ICG said. Subsequently, the disabled Inter Fairy Boat was also towed by another fishing boat to the Vedalai fishing harbor.

On Saturday, the ICG had apprehended 10 Pakistani nationals from the Arabian Sea off the Gujarat coast. All of them were aboard the Pakistani boat 'Yasin' that was caught sailing 6-7 miles inside Indian waters by ICGS Ankit. Two tonnes of fish and 600 liters of fuel were recovered from the deck and further checks were carried out after the boat reached Porbandar for interrogation. 

ICG's crackdown on drug smuggling

Last month, the ICG, in a joint operation with Gujarat ATS apprehended a Pakistani fishing boat carrying 77 kgs of heroin. The Pakistani boat 'Al Huseini' with 6 crew members was caught entering Indian waters with a narcotics cache worth approximately Rs 400 crores, said PRO Defence, Gujarat. The boat was later brought to Jakhau for further investigation. 

Back in September, a boat carrying 12 Pakistani crew members was caught off the Gujarat coast during a surveillance mission. The ICG informed, “On the night of September 14, Indian Coast Guard ship 'Rajratan', while on a surveillance mission apprehended a Pakistani boat named 'Allah Pawawakal' in Indian waters with 12 crew members." 

Smugglers from Pakistan had been trying to use the Gujarat coast as a transit route to transport narcotics to their destination, especially in the last four years, but all such attempts were foiled, said Gujarat ATS Deputy Inspector General (Operations) Himanshu Shukla.