Coast guard airlifts tilted ship's crew to safety

In a daring operation, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued 11 of the 16 crew members of drifting cargo ship MV Priyanka in the Arabian Sea on Monday. The vessel tilted due to rains and rough weather in Raigad district's Revdanda area.

During investigation, ICG learnt that five crew members had used the life raft of the vessel and abandoned the ship when it dangerously tilted on one side.

According to the coast guard, the incident happened around 11.20am on Monday. The vessel, besides the crew members, was carrying 1,900 metric tonnes of iron pellets. It was sailing on a channel from Mumbai and had arrived in Revdanda on Sunday. The vessel broke anchor and started drifting due to the stormy weather. After some time, it started tilting dangerously to one side around 3km from Revdanda port in Raigad district.

Realising that the situation could soon take a turn for the worse, the crew members informed the port officer at Revdanda. The port officer then informed coast guard's Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Mumbai.

"Looking at the emergency, the ICG immediately deployed Chetak helicopter to rescue the crew members. The helicopter reached the spot in 15 minutes and started airlifting the crew members from the tilted vessel. Within a few minutes, all the crew members were taken to a safe location on shore. They were then handed over to the local administration," said inspector-general SPS Basra, commander, ICG.

Basra added, "The abandoned vessel is being monitored by the coast guard and all agencies concerned have been alerted of the necessary action."