Ahmedabad: The Indian Coast Guard rescued 22 people from a sinking merchant vessel off the Porbandar coast.
The vessel experienced sudden, uncontrolled flooding onboard when it was on its way to Karnataka from the UAE. The crew was forced to abandon the ship. It was transporting 6,000 tonnes of Bitumen (Asphalt), a semi-solid form of petroleum.
The official statement said that the ICG immediately responded to the distress alert at about 0820 hours. The vessel is named MT Global King-1 and all stakeholders have been informed.
The ICG tweeted that all crew members are safe and healthy after a swift rescue operation. Everyone on board was brought to Porbandar. Other than 20 Indians, one Pakistan citizen and a Sri Lankan citizen were on board.
Dornier aircraft was launched to assess the situation and relay information to nearby ships.
ANI tweeted that ICG vessels ALH and Druv, a utility helicopter, were engaged in the mission out 93 nautical miles into the sea. The helicopters operated close to their operational maxima despite strong winds.