Sixteen crew members were rescued by the Coast Guard after their merchant vessel ran aground near Raigad coast on Monday morning.
According to the Coast Guard officials, at 11.20 a.m. on Monday a distress call was made by the crew members onboard merchant vessel MV Priyanka. The 70-metre-long Indian vessel was carrying 19 metric tonnes of iron pellets. It had sailed from Mumbai and had arrived at Revdanda in Raigad coast on Sunday afternoon.
“The vessel broke anchor and started drifting due to inclement weather. After sometime, the vessel tilted dangerously. A Chetak helicopter was pressed into action to save the stranded crew members,” a press release from Coast Guard stated.
“Five of the crew had used the life-raft of the vessel and abandoned the ship when the vessel tilted dangerously to one side. All the 16 crew members were rescued,” the press release added.
