Navy’s relief operations enter 11th day post Ockhi

The ‘OP Sahayam’, an Indian Navy exercise for undertaking search and rescue and providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief material support in the wake of  Cyclone Ockhi continued.
Naval vessel INS Sharda rescues fishermen stranded due to cyclone Ockhi off Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.| Indian navy
Naval vessel INS Sharda rescues fishermen stranded due to cyclone Ockhi off Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea.| Indian navy

KOCHI: The ‘OP Sahayam’, an Indian Navy exercise for undertaking search and rescue and providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief material support in the wake of  Cyclone Ockhi continued for the 11th day on Sunday over the Southeast Arabian Sea and Lakshadweep and Minicoy Islands.

Nine ships and all available aircraft have continued the search operations. Long-range Maritime Reconnaissance P8I aircraft  searched over the entire Maldives, according to a Navy communique.
The fishing community had estimated a few vessels were stranded in the  Maldivian islands. Expeditious clearance was obtained through diplomatic channels to fly over Maldives and calls were made via Very High Frequency (VHF) Radio. Officers said though the Maldivian people undertook search operations for the missing fishers, they could not locate any.

INS Sujata equipped with mobile freezers on Sunday embarked on the mission from Vizhinjam with four fishermen and Deputy Tehsildar Mohan Raj for joining the deep sea search operations.  

INS Subhadra, another Naval vessel on routine deployment, spotted 12 crew members  on board two Tamil Nadu registered fishing vessels ‘Milkyas’ and ‘Felaxia’ about 90 miles northwest of Bitra island of Lakshadweep. The fishermen sought drinking water and they were provided 1,500 litres. The ship also stumbled on two capsized fishing vessels, ‘Annei ‘and ‘AVM EP Turai’ and searches revealed they had no survivors on board. This has been intimated to the state governments.      

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