21 September,2017 08:09 AM IST | Mumbai | A Correspondent
While patrolling over the sea on September 17, the Coast Guard aircraft received a distress call from the fishing boat, which was stranded for days
The fishing boat was towed back to Mumbai on Tuesday night
After a two-day struggle, 14 fishermen stuck on a boat 200 kilometres away from the Mumbai coast, was rescued by the Coast Guard on Tuesday. The fishermen were stranded for the past 10 days, without enough food and water, after the boat's engine broke down.
Distress call
According to a statement released by the Coast Guard (CG), while patrolling over the sea on September 17, their aircraft received a distress call from the fishing boat Seagull, which had drifted almost 200 km from the coast. Heavy rainfall and rough sea conditions had added to the fishermen's woes.
The information was immediately relayed to the head office, after which the authorities asked the Coast Guard ship Samudra Prahari to track the boat and provide assistance.
According to CG officials, Prahari located Seagull on Tuesday morning. On contacting the fishermen onboard, they learnt that the boat did not have food and water.
Help arrives
The officials further said that immediate measures were taken and assistance was provided to the fishermen. Thereafter, the CG ship towed the boat back to Mumbai by Tuesday night.
On Wednesday morning, the crew members were taken to Sasoon dock in a boat arranged by the state fisheries department.
10
Number of days the fishermen were stranded
