Coast Guard rescues 10 fishermen aboard stranded boat off Mangaluru coast

Indian Coast Guard rescued stranded fishing boat with 10 fishermen off New Mangalore Coast.

The Indian Coast Guard in coordination with the Fisheries Department on Thursday successfully rescued a stranded fishing boat with ten fishermen on board from deep water off New Mangalore Coast, officials said.

Indian Coast Guard said that recognising the urgency of the situation, it immediately swung into action and deployed Coast Guard vessels C-448 and C-446 to assist the stranded fishing boat.

The boat -- "Thiruchendur Murugan" -- with 10 fishermen had set sail for fishing on September 20 but on September 24, it was stranded due to a broken engine shaft, at a distance of 39 nautical miles, they said.

The incident left them in distress as they found themselves adrift in the Arabian Sea, officials said. According to the officials, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Mumbai which first picked up the distress signal from the stranded fishing boat relayed it to Coast Guard District Headquarters (Karnataka) on Thursday.

In a statement, the Indian Coast Guard said that recognising the urgency of the situation, it immediately swung into action and deployed Coast Guard vessels C-448 and C-446 to assist the stranded fishing boat.

These vessels, equipped with advanced navigation and towing capabilities, continuously monitored the towing process of the "Thiruchendur Murugan" throughout the journey.

"In a timely well coordinated operation, Indian Coast Guard with the Fisheries Department and the boat owner ensured safe towage of the distressed fishing boat to Old New Mangalore Harbour which was drifting for long facing the vagaries of the sea," it added.