Coast Guard rescues fishing boat on high seas

BHUBANESWAR: At least 69 fishermen aboard five boats stranded in high seas off Orissa coast due to rough weather during the last one week was rescued by Coast Guard today.

The rescue was conducted by Coast Guard (CG) ships 'Vishwast' and 'Sarojini Naidu' under the command of Deputy Inspector General A P Badola and Commandant N Ravi from Paradip, a CG release said here.

The Coast Guard ship 'Sarojini Naidu' braving adverse sea and weather conditions had rescued Balasore-based fishing boat 'Heera Tarini No-1' along with its 12 crew approximately 150 nm off Paradip on June 20.

The distressed boat was stranded due to breakdown of the main propulsion machinery on June 14 and four of its crew were severely dehydrated, the release said.

The CG ship provided food and medical aid to the crew and towed the fishing boat for over 19 hrs and handed it over to the fisheries officials yesterday.

CG air and sea assets also saved 57 fishermen and four boats belonging to West Bengal when the sea condition was rough due to low pressure last week, it added.