Indian Coast Guard rescues six fishermen from flooded fishing boat off Porbandar coast

Porbandar: In a swift operation, the Indian Coast Guard rescued six fishermen stranded on a flooded fishing boat 'Vismita' off the Porbandar coast in Gujarat, said reports on Sunday. According to reports, the Coast Guard team swung into action after its Operations Centre received a distress call at around 1910 hours on December 21 from fishing boat 'Vismita' with 6 fishermen onboard.

The boat was flooding and its engines had stopped working approximately 24 Nautical Miles from Porbandar. An Indian Coast Guard ship C-445,which was on routine patrolling duty, was immediately diverted to render assistance to the distressed boat.

The technical team from C-445 boarded the fishing boat with damage control equipment and stopped the flooding by plugging the crack in boat hull and de-flooding was carried out.

"The boat with six fishermen gave a distress call and a Coast Guard ship C-445 on regular patrolling gave their assistance. The technical team from C-445 boarded the fishing boat with damage control equipment and stopped the flooding by plugging the crack in boat hull and de flooding was carried out," an official statement issued by the Indian Coast Guard.

The boat was then towed to Porbandar Harbour by another fishing boat under escort of ICGS C-455 safely at 0300 hrs on December 22.