Indian Coast Guard rescues 14 fishermen from distressed boat off Daman coast

The Indian Coast Guard successfully rescued as many as 14 fishermen from a distressed boat off the coast of Daman, in the Union territory of Daman and Diu on Wednesday, August 17. 

In a swift operation, facing the extreme weather conditions, the soldiers of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) came to the timely rescue of the 14 fishermen who found themselves stuck at sea, on their boat named Tulsi Devi with an engine failure.

On Wednesday afternoon, 11 fishermen on a sinking boat were airlifted by a helicopter and safely brought to shore. While three fishermen who had earlier refused to leave the boat in the hopes of being able to restart it were saved in the evening, according to Deputy IG and commanding officer of the Coast Guard Air Station in Daman, SSN Bajpai. 

Helicopters used to complete rescue

SSN Bajpai added that the boat's engine failed on Tuesday night at a distance of about 16 nautical miles off the coast of Daman, and when the crew was unable to restart it, they turned to the ICG for assistance.

 A distress call was received at 11:35 am on Wednesday, following which the Daman Coast Guard sent a helicopter from its air station and airlifted the 11 fishermen in four sorties, said Bajpai.

 As per information from the ICG, all the rescued fishermen have been handed over to the fisheries department.

Advanced Light Helicopter MK III Squadron commissioned

In a bid to strengthen the Coast Guard Region North West, an advanced light helicopter (ALH) MK III squadron was commissioned by the director general of the Indian Coast Guard at the ICG Air Enclave in Gujarat's Porbandar, earlier in June.
As per reports, as many as 13 ALH MK III aircraft have been inducted into the ICG in a phased manner, and four of these are positioned at Porbandar.

ALH MK III helicopters have been indigenously manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and feature state-of-the-art equipment, including advanced RADAR as well as electro-optical sensors, Shakti engines, full-glass cockpit, high-intensity searchlight, advanced communication systems, automatic identification system and search-and-rescue homer.

These features enable them to undertake maritime reconnaissance and carry out search and rescue at extended ranges even while operating from ships, both by day and night.

(With agency inputs)