Visakhapatnam: Nine fishermen rescued by Indian Coast Guard after boat catches fire
On April 5, the boat had a fire incident resulting in explosion of Gas cylinder onboad
By Newsmeter Network Published on 6 April 2024 7:51 AM GMT
Visakhapatnam: Nine fishermen were saved after an Indian Coast Guard Ship Veera on patrol in Andhra coast saved them after they had suffered severe burn injuries after their boat caught fire and sunk at sea.
On Friday, ICGS Veera had received a radio message from nearby fishing boat about raging fire onboard Indian fishing boat (IFB) Durga Bhavani at location around 65 nautical miles from Visakhapatnam harbour. IFB Durga Bhavani, an Andhra registered boat, had sailed from Kakinada harbour with nine crew on March 26.
On April 5, the boat had a fire incident resulting in explosion of Gas cylinder onboad. All nine fishermen jumped into water to escape but some suffered severe burn injuries in the process.
The fishing boat was damaged due to explosion, and sank at the location within a few minutes. The information regarding fire and explosion was relayed to Coast Guard ship by an nearby boat, who proceeded to pickup the survivors.
Sensing the urgency of situation, ICGS Veera proceeded at top speed, reaching at the location within a few hours to provide assistance to the survivors. All nine survivors were shifted to ICG ship where they were provided first aid by a medical team.
Meanwhile, Coast Guard District Headquarters No. 6 in coordination with JD Fisheries Visakhapatnam promptly arranged ambulances along with medical teams to evacuate critically injured crew of IFB. All the injured fishermen were shifted to King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam for further treatment.
Due to swift response by ICG ship, the entire rescue mission was completed Coast Guard within a short span of six hours.
