Indian Coast Guard has successfully rescued seven fishermen stranded following failure of boat engine in the Bay of Bengal in rough weather.
On request from Joint Director Fisheries, Viskahapatnam, on Tuesday the Coast Guard vessel ICGS Rajdhwaj was diverted to the spot where fishing boat King fisher-3 was adrift due to engine failure. After some intense search ICGS Rajdhwaj located the stranded boat 30 nautical miles off the coast of Visakhapatnam in the early hours of Wednesday.
The Coast Guard ship towed the fishing boat and the fisherfolk and brought it to the coast on Wednesday, according to Coast Guard Commandant S Zakir Hussain in a statement issued here on Wednesday.
The Coast Guard toll free number 1554 which is manned 24x7 proved helpful in rescuing the stranded fishermen. The fishing boat had started its voyage on December 26 and all communication with the boat had been lost since January 3 after the boat’s engine failed.
