Palghar fishermen rescue five policemen on board sinking patrolling boat

The Kelwe coastal police said that around 12.30pm on Friday, Palghar police’s speed boat- Ashoka- had five police constables onboard and they were supposed to patrol the shoreline up to Edvan village, but when it reached near the Kelwe beach, water started entering the boat in the choppy sea and due to high-tide

Mumbai: Five police personnel onboard a sinking police patrolling boat were rescued by fishermen on Friday around 7 nautical miles off Kelwe beach in Palghar district.

They tried removing the seawater from the boat by using a cut mineral water bottle but when they didn’t succeed, they called for help,” said Bhimsen Gaikwad, assistant police inspector of Kelwe coastal police. (HT Photo)

The Kelwe coastal police said that around 12.30pm on Friday, Palghar police’s speed boat- Ashoka- had five police constables onboard and they were supposed to patrol the shoreline up to Edvan village, but when it reached near the Kelwe beach, water started entering the boat in the choppy sea and due to high-tide.

“They tried removing the seawater from the boat by using a cut mineral water bottle but when they didn’t succeed, they called for help,” said Bhimsen Gaikwad, assistant police inspector of Kelwe coastal police.

Gaikwad then contacted Harishachandra Mehere who owns the fishing trawler Laxmiprasad. The local police arranged for diesel on an immediate basis for the trawler.

“I went along with Mehere and other fishermen - Rakesh Mehere, Aatish Mehere, Chandrakant Tandel, Rupesh Bhandar, Vignesh Bhandar and Ritesh Mehere all residents of Kelwe and started following the GPS location given by our patrolling boat,” said Gaikwad.

After an hour-long boat ride through the choppy and windy sea, they managed to trace the Ashoka speed boat that was halted mid-sea. Around half the boat was filled with water and it was impossible for the five constables to remove the water due to the choppy sea. The policemen had also lost all their life jackets in sea water.

“As the water had entered the boat, it was about to sink and the policemen onboard were desperately looking for urgent help and we reached just in time and saved everybody. The boat was also safely brought to Kelwe Mangalweda Jetty after removing the water from it,” said Gaikwad.

A few days back, a fishing boat had capsized after hitting a rock off Kelwe and all fifteen people onboard were saved by the local fishermen.