Padmesh Prabhune –
Acting swiftly, Indian Coast Guard Ship Veera on patrol off the Andhra coast, has saved nine fishermen who had suffered severe burn injuries after their boat IFB Durga Bhavani caught fire and sank at sea on Friday 5 April 2024.
The ICGS Veera had received a radio message from a nearby fishing boat about a raging fire onboard the Indian fishing boat (IFB) Durga Bhavani at the location around 65 nautical miles from Visakhapatnam harbour. Durga Bhavani, an Andhra registered boat, had sailed from Kakinada harbour with nine crew on 26 March 24.
According to reports, the boat had a fire incident on April 5, resulting in an explosion of a Gas cylinder onboard. All nine fishermen jumped into the water to escape but some suffered severe burn injuries in the process. The fishing boat, damaged due to an explosion, sank at the location within a few minutes. The information regarding fire and explosion was relayed to Coast Guard ship by a nearby boat, which boat then proceeded to pick up the survivors.
Sensing the urgency of the situation, ICGS Veera proceeded at top speed, reaching the location within a few hours to provide assistance to the survivors. All nine survivors were shifted to ICG ship where they were provided first aid by a medical team.
In the meanwhile, Coast Guard District Headquarters No. 6 in coordination with JD Fisheries Visakhapatnam promptly arranged ambulances along with medical teams to evacuate the critically injured crew of IFB. All the injured fishermen were shifted to King George Hospital, Visakhapatnam, for further treatment.
Due to the swift response by the ICG ship, the entire rescue mission was completed within a short span of six hours.
Marex Media