Sailors stranded on tug rescued in joint Ops
The tug stuck near Kaup lighthouse
Indian Navy, Coast Guard rescue nine crew of a tug near Kaup lighthouse
Mangaluru, May 17, 2021: The Indian Navy and the Coast Guard in a joint operation rescued nine crew of a tug grounded near Kaup today.
Due to Cyclone Tauktae, the Arabian sea had turned rough. Nine crew members of Tug Coromandal supporter IX were grounded off Mulki rocks.
Rough seas, due to cyclone Tauktae, had resulted in flooding of the vessel’s machinery compartments rendering it without propulsion and power supply, and the crew without any support.
They had sought help from the district administration.
The help of the Coast Guard and Navy was sought based on which the teams were deployed for the operation.
While five crew were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard Ship Varaha Gemini Boat, four were airlifted by the Indian Navy Helicopter.
The four were immediately shifted to the NMPT Hospital at Panambur.
Nalin Kumar Kateel and Kota Srinivas Poojary visit NMPT Hospital:
MP Nalin Kumar Kateel along with District Incharge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary, MLA Dr. Bharat Shetty, and Deputy Commissioner Dr. Rajendra K V visited the hospital.
The Tug went missing three days ago. Yesterday the crew members sent a WhatsApp message. The tug was stuck in the rocks about 6 km away from Kaup lighthouse.
“Based on the request from the district administration, the Coast Guard immediately jumped into action. But their ship could not move near due to rough weather. We contacted Union Defence Minister Rajanath Singh and arranged for two helicopters. But due to bad weather they could not come yesterday,” Nalin told reporters.
“Today early morning both Navy and Coast Guard started the operation. While five were rescued by the Coast Guard ship, four were airlifted by the Navy helicopter,” he said.
“The four rescued by the Navy have reached the hospital and are in good condition. However, they will be placed under observation for 24 hours. The five rescued by the Coast Guard will arrive here shortly,” he added.
Nalin thanked the Defence Minister, Chief Minister for their support and appreciated the Coast Guard team led by DIG S B Venkatesh, Navy team, Deputy Commissioner Dr Rajendra KV, NMPT Chairman and all those involved in this operation.
Former Minister Pramod Madhwaraj had tweeted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to help the stranded sailors.
Later Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje too tweeted Rajnath Singh and CM B S Yediyurappa for help.
