Coast Guard Rescues Fishing Boat

�Visakhapatnam: Indian Coast Guard ship Veera rescued a fishing boat in mid-sea about 195 nautical miles off the southern coast on Sunday midnight.

Sources said Veera was on its routine patrol off the Andhra Pradesh coast and its radio operator received an alert from Coast Guard district headquarters-6 at 8 pm on Sunday about a boat which developed a technical snag after a piece of fishing net entangled to its propeller. The operator was also alerted about the condition of a fisherman who sustained a severe head injury while trying to remove the net, had continual vomiting and lying unconscious on the boat.

The ship analysed the received credentials and immediately set sail towards the boat. It soon established communication with the boat IFB S Vetri and arrived at the spot. The injured fisherman was recovered onboard and given medical treatment. Veera reached the Chennai harbour in the early hours of Monday and handed over the crew to Coast Guard authorities for further medical attention.

“It was learnt that the mechanized deep sea gill net boat departed from Nagapattinam on July 21 with 12 fishermen. While the boat was fishing on the fringes of the country's exclusive economic zone, a piece of fishing net got entangled with a propeller. One fisherman dived and tried to remove the net but sustained a head injury. The distress was raised by the boat crew and requested for medical assistance” informed the Coast Guard sources.

The Coast Guard ship Veera is operating from Visakhapatnam and is commanded by Commandant Ramesh V. Talke.