AHMEDABAD: Eight crew members on a flooded boat were rescued and another barge having water ingress was escorted to safety from Arabian sea off Jakhau coast in two separate operations by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG).
An ICG interceptor boat (IB) received an SOS from a salt barge named 'MV Priya' at around 6.30 PM on Saturday last week when it was sailing off the coast of Jakhau seeking assistance due to flooding on board, the Coast Guard said in a press release issued today.
"ICG IB on routine patrol in the area immediately diverted for the position, and on reaching, noticed that the said barge was flooded up to bridge level and was tilting to one side...only a quarter deck was partly visible and eight crew were stranded on board," ICG said.
"All the eight crew members were safely embarked on board Indian Coast Guard IB, provided first aid, and ferried to Jakhau port," it said.
The ICG IB received another call at around 1.30 AM yesterday from salt barge Karishma, which had accumulated sea water in its carriage area due to rough seas.
"VHF communication was established and the master of the barge was guided to use local sea water system for de-flooding and to seal all watertight compartments to avoid any further ingress of water," it said.
"On restoring stable conditions, the barge was safely escorted by Indian Coast Guard IB to enter Jakhau harbour," it further said in the release.