Five people on board a fishing boat, with little or no diesel, which had drifted deep into the Arabian Sea due to high tide and heavy winds, were rescued by the coastal police and the local fishermen after nearly 12 hours into the adventure. By the time they were saved, the boat had reached near Satpati coast in Palghar.
The drama in the sea ended around 3 pm on Thursday after the five had spent the spooky night in the boat. They had managed to contact the Satpati coastal police and the boat's owner, Hanumant Hingole's whose sons, Sanshekhar (18) and Laxman (18), both HSC students, were among those on board.
"I had bought the fishing boat for Rs 30 lakh from Mangur in Vadodara, and the crew was bringing it to Mazgaon dock. My two sons were also on board. When diesel got over, the heavy winds and the rough sea carried the boat deep into the sea. The Satpati coast is full of heavy rocks and the boat could have submerged, said Hanumant Hingole, owner of the boat.
"They had started their journey from Gujarat two days back and reached Satpati at 2pm on Wednesday when the boat's diesel got over. They kept calling for help but no contact could be established. Around 7pm they managed to attract the attention of the local fishermen who informed the police and me," said Hingole.
"We were informed by the locals. But we could not enter the sea due to the rough weather. So we asked them to wait till morning, and then we launched a rescue operation with the help of the local fishermen," said Harshvardhan Barve, assistant police inspector, Satpati coastal police station.
"We went with 500 liters of diesel and threw it attached to a rope towards the boat to avoid collision. They pulled it on board and continued their journey towards Mumbai," said Barve.
The Arabian Sea is closed to fishing from May 25 as rains are expected and the sea tends to be rough with heavy winds.
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