Coast Guard airlifts two injured Chinese crew from merchant vessel off Mumbai

The Coast Guard on Sunday said it had rescued two injured Chinese nationals by airlifting them from a merchant vessel off the Mumbai coast.

"At 21:45 hours on Friday, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai received a request from the vessel after the two Chinese crew sustained injuries while working on the deck," according to a Coast Guard release.

It said after directing the ship, which was on its way to Brazil, to move towards Mumbai, the Coast Guard pressed its helicopter into service which landed on deck of the merchant vessel on 16:00 hours yon Saturday.

"With a medical team on board, it examined the two Chinese nationals -- Fu Yaokun (34) and Lin Xin Mao (36) -- and facilitated their transit to the Indian Navy helicopter base INS Shikra," the release said.

The two Chinese nationals were then handed over to their Indian agent who admitted them to a local hospital for further medical treatment. The Coast Guard said the condition of the two Chinese nationals is said to be stable.