PARADIP: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has rescued 27 Bangladeshi fishermen who were stranded at sea after their boat developed technical snag. The fishermen were handed over to the Bangladesh Coast Guard counterparts on Thursday.
According to the ICG, during patrol at the Indo-Bangladesh International Maritime Border Line (IMBL), its ship Amogh sighted a Bangladeshi fishing boat (BFB) Sagar II adrift inside Indian waters. The ICG ship launched a boarding team to investigate, which found that the boat had a steering gear breakdown for the last two days and had been adrift since then. The snag led the boat to sail into Indian waters. The BFB had 27 crew/fishermen onboard.
The ICG technical team tried to identify and rectify the defect, but it was observed that the rudder of the boat was completely damaged and could not be repaired at sea. As the sea state and weather conditions were conducive, it was decided that the distressed boat would be towed to the IMBL and handed over to another Bangladeshi fishing boat or to a Bangladesh Coast Guard ship, in accordance with the norms.
The ICG regional headquarters at Kolkata established communication with Bangladesh Coast Guard and informed them about the incident and plan of action. A BCG ship Kamaruzzaman arrived near the IMBL and the 27 fishermen along with their boat were handed over to it.
The ICG sources said, the operation reflected its commitment towards safeguarding precious lives at sea against all odds. Such successful search and rescue operations will not only strengthen the regional SAR structure but also enhance international cooperation with neighbouring countries, they said.