Fishing vessel capsizes with 16 men on board, 14 rescued

MUMBAI: Fourteen crew members of a fishing vessel that sank on Saturday have been rescued while two are still missing. Two Navy divers, who were part of the search

MUMBAI: Fourteen crew members of a fishing vessel that sank on Saturday have been rescued while two are still missing. Two Navy divers, who were part of the search and rescue operations went adrift on Saturday night but were found alive on Sunday morning.

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The vessel, Datta Sai, suffered damage because of the bad weather and sank about 30 nautical miles off Mumbai coast on Saturday morning. It was carrying 16 men. According to Navy officials, a merchant vessel, MV Dependable, rescued the fishermen and alerted concerned agencies. The Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) started the rescue operations. ICG ship Samudra Prahari, that was on coastal patrol, was the first to be sent to the spot. A Coast Guard aircraft from Daman was also launched. The rescued were provided with first aid and food and their condition was reported to be stable, said a Navy official.

“A search and rescue operation was conducted by units of the Coast Guard, Indian Navy and ONGC. The Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard have pressed eight warships and four aircraft, including Dorniers and Chetak, in the area,” said chief public relation officer commander Rahul Sinha (defence).

Two Navy divers, who were part of the search and rescue operations went adrift last night and had to survive the whole night at sea. They were located later on Sunday morning by a fishing boat, ‘Ram Dutta Sai’, and rescued. They were brought to Sasoon dock around 2pm on Sunday, said an ICG official

“During the search, one fisherman was spotted by INS Trishul. The ship lowered a boat and two divers went in for him,” added Sinha. “But because of the rain, and darkness, the survivor and divers could not be seen even at a close range . We are trying to find the two others,” said Sinha.