Coast Guard Karnataka saves six crew of a vessel near Mangaluru
Mangaluru, March 20, 2021: Coast Guard officials saved six crew members of a vessel off New Mangalore today.
Coast Guard officials said that the Dornier aircraft during its routine MR sortie picked up a distress call at 11.35 am on March 20 from MSV Safina AL-Mirzan.
Immediately, CG Dornier after a thorough search in the area for almost 30 min sighted the debris and 06 personnel floating in water in mid-sea. The CG Dornier aircraft after assessing the sea conditions dropped Life Raft from the air. The ill-fated crew were floating in the mid-sea facing the challenging sea with wind speed reaching 20 Knots and a current of 1.5 knots.
In a swift action, based on inputs received from CG Dornier on area patrol about distress call received from MSV Safina AL-Mirzan. Coast Guard Karnataka sailed out Fast Interceptor Boat for Search and Rescue Mission.
C-448 reached the site in less than 1 hour and rescued six crew of ill-fated dhow who were in distress due to flooding in the vessel’s engine room. The ill-fated vessel had sailed from Old Mangalore Port on March 19 at 2.30 pm carrying 120 Tons of spices/food grains/vegetables/sand and granite.
The initial assessment by the rescue team revealed seepage of seawater into the boat’s engine room had caused flooding on dhow which lead to sinking in position 30 Nm West of Kasaragod.
All 6 crew (5 from Gujarat and 1 from Mangaluru) brought back safely and healthy to New Mangalore Port. They have been handed over to Coastal Police and Assistant Director Fisheries for further action.
