Coast Guard rescues snag-hit fishing vessel of Tamil Nadu

Indian Coast Guard rescued a snag-hit fishing vessel off Karnataka coast. The fishing vessel stuck in sea was rescued and towed to Malpe fishing harbour of Karnataka on Sunday morning. The sea-air co-ordinated search and rescue operations lasted for over 72 hours before the vessel was towed to safety, coast guard said.

Malpe (Karnataka):Indian Coast Guard rescued a snag-hit fishing vessel off Karnataka coast. The fishing vessel from Tamil Nadu got stuck in sea and it was rescued and towed to Malpe fishing harbour of Karnataka on Sunday morning. The sea-air co-ordinated search and rescue operations lasted for over 72 hours before the vessel was towed to safety, coast guard said.

'Relentless sea-air co-ordinated ops by #ICG over past 72 hrs braving inclement weather resulted in successful rescue of fishing boat Lourdhu Matha2 adrift off #Karnataka coast due propeller loss & brought to Malpe harbour today under tow of IFB Kadal Matha. All 10 crew safe,' the coast guard tweet mentioned.

The fishing boat named Lourdhu Matha2 belonged to Benni from Rayumanthurai in Kanyakumari district and she sailed on a deep sea fishing expedition from Kochi fishing harbour on August 1. The crew included ten fishermen including the master of the vessel N Anto from Eraviputhanthurai.

Three days ago, while they were fishing off Karnataka coast, the vessel lost its propeller and got stuck in the sea. Unable to fix the snag, the crew alerted Indian Coast Guard for help. Indian Coast Guard picking up their SOS carried out the Search and Rescue (SAR) operation. Fishermen sources at Kanyakumari said that Indian Coast Guard told the crew that they can rescue all the crew members from the snag-hit vessel but the fishermen were reluctant to leave their boat behind.

With the sea being turbulent due to monsoon activities in the Western Coast, a propeller-lost vessel could sink in no time. As the deep sea faring fishing vessel costing a fortune for fisherfolk, the crew members were reluctant to leave behind the vessel to its peril, the fishermen said.

They managed to patch with another fishing boat Kadal Matha in the vicinity. Co-ordinated by the Coast Guard, Kadal Matha towed the fishing vessel Lourdhu Matha2 to the Malpe harbour.

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