Coast Guard rescues 12 onboard sinking cargo vessel off Gujarat coast

Officials on Sunday said that the Coast Guard has rescued 12 crew members from the sinking cargo vessel MSV Krishna Sudama in the Arabian Sea, about 18 kilometres from Okha on the coast of Gujarat.

Ahmedabad:The Coast Guard has rescued 12 crew members from the sinking cargo vessel MSV Krishna Sudama in the Arabian Sea, about 18 kilometres from Okha on the coast of Gujarat, officials said on Sunday.

At about 9 pm on September 26, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) at Okha received information about flooding on board the cargo vessel, about 10 nautical miles off Okha, ICG said. The vessel, which set sail from Mudra in Gujarat on the morning of September 26 was on its to Djibouti and carrying 905-tonne cargo comprising rice and sugar.

The 12 rescued persons have been safely brought to Okha, ICG said in a statement. "Upon receiving information a search and rescue was immediately commenced wherein Coast Guard Ship C-411 sailed from Okha, C-161 was diverted from off Mundra, and MV Southern Robin in the vicinity of the area was diverted to render assistance," it said.

Coast Guard ship C-411 arrived in the approximate position indicated by southern robin and undertook an extensive search in the area. After a thorough search C-411 located the craft carrying 12 crew who had abandoned MSV Krishna Sudama which was sinking due to flooding.

Coast Guard Ship C-411 undertook valiant operation rescuing all 12 crew under challenging circumstances owing to night hours, floating dangerous debris, and unfavorable weather conditions," ICG said The Coast Guard Ship C-161 is maintaining in the area to monitor and combat any probable oil pollution incident which might result from leakage of fuel from the sunken dhow, it said. (ANI)