Maharashtra: Coast Guard rescues seven fishermen off Ratnagiri coast

Seven fishermen were rescued by Coast Guard off Ratnagiri coast on Monday evening. Their fishing trawler had got flooded resulting in a distress call by them.

"At around noon on Monday fishing boat Durga Ambika raised a distress alert on VHF channel regarding flooding and sinking of a fishing boat Mahez which was floating at around 26 nautical miles (about 45 km) North West of Ratnagiri with seven fishermen in rough sea conditions," said a Coast Guard spokesperson.

The Coast Guard Dornier aircraft on surveillance monitored the distress and relayed it to Coast Guard, Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai.

This was followed by Coast Guard's Regional Headquarters at Mumbai directing one of its Interceptor Boat – ICGS C402 to sail with maximum speed from Angre Port, Jaigarh for Search and Rescue.

By Monday evening, all the seven fishermen were rescued from their boat Mahez. "Coast Guard Ship C402 de-flooded the distress boat by using her submersible pump and safely towed it to Ratnagiri. The boat reached Ratnagiri at around 6pm, without any casualties," added the spokesperson.