Navy, Coast Guard rescue 24 in Maharashtra

Officegoers leave early after the cyclone warning in Mumbai on Wednesday. Cyclone Phyan, with a wind-speed of approximately 102 km per hour, will hit the city, experts warned. Photo: Paul Noronha

As many as 24 persons including eight fishermen were rescued on Wednesday by the Navy and Coast Guard from the rough Arabian Sea in Maharashtra.

Eight fishermen, including a minor, who ventured into the choppy sea ignoring the warnings of a cyclone, were rescued off the Ratnagiri coast in Konkan region with the help of Navy’s Chetak helicopter, Capt. M. Nambiar, Ministry of Defence spokesman, said.

Sixteen crew members of two vessels were rescued by the Coast Guard from Bombay High, an off-shore oilfield 160 km off the Mumbai coast, he said.

The Navy has deployed its personnel equipped with boats and lifeguards in Mankhurd, Malad, Worli, Ghatkopar and Colaba areas in the city to carry out rescue operations in case of floods, he said.

The Coast Guard has also earmarked an aircraft and two vessels for search and rescue operations and to prevent fishermen from venturing into sea, he added.