US Centcom says US Navy helped rescue 14 Indian mariners in north Arabian Sea

Washington: A US Navy search and rescue helicopter on Sunday assisted in the rescue of 14 Indian mariners in the Northern Arabian Sea, the US Central Command said.

"Upon receiving a distress call from the stranded mariners at approximately 2 a.m. EST (11:30 am IST), a US Navy P-8 aircraft was first on scene, responded by dropping a search and rescue kit that included a life raft, which the 14 mariners boarded," the Central Command statement said.

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It said Motor Vessel (M/V) Jabal Ali 9 subsequently arrived on scene and successfully recovered eleven crew members from the raft.

"An MH-60S Sea Hawk, assigned to Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), rescued three additional mariners after their life raft capsized in the rough seas. The three mariners were transported to M/V Jabal Ali 9, where they were in good health and spirits," the Centcom said.

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) also responded to the distress call, it said.

The US 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses nearly 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and Bab al-Mandeb.