Ten foreign nationals, rescued from high seas by the Indian Coast Guard after 48 hours of air-sea co-ordinated search operations, were brought to Port Blair Harbour on Sunday afternoon.
The Indian Coast Guard, which is the nodal agency for maritime search and rescue within the Indian region, had so far responded to 141 distress situations this year and saved 106 lives, a press release here said.
A Taiwanese vessel Glontas-231, sailing from Phuket in Thailand to Paradeep, sank 520 kilometres west off Port Blair after a sudden explosion.
While the vessel's engineer officer succumbed to burns, the 10 other crew members were picked up by a Sri Lankan fishing boat Tharusha-1.
However, the boat carrying nine Indonesians and one Taiwanese to Trincomalee, developed snag after its engine broke down.
Crisis
In the afternoon of July 1, the Indian Coast Guard was intimated of the crisis, and it immediately alerted its vessel Varad, which was on patrol off Little Andaman.
A Coast Guard Dornier aircraft from Port Blair was also engaged and after a co-ordinated air-sea search operation, the boat was located west off Port Blair around the midnight of July 2.
The rescued personnel were administered emergency medical aid and a technical team repaired the fishing vessel.
The Sri Lankan authorities were notified and the boat left for Trincomalee Harbour. The rescued personnel were handed over to the Immigration Department on reaching Port Blair, the release added.
