Coast Guard rescues 12 sailors with Pak agency's help

The Indian Coast Guard has rescued 12 crew members of a merchant vessel from the country which sank in the north Arabian Sea during its voyage from Porbandar in Gujarat to Bandar Abbas port in Iran, officials said on Thursday.

The vessel MSV Al Piranpir sank on Wednesday outside Indian waters, within Pakistan's search and rescue region.

Hence, the Indian Coast Guard carried out the rescue operation in collaboration with the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA), the ICG said in a release.

"This humanitarian search and rescue mission saw a close collaboration between the Indian Coast Guard and PMSA, with both nations' maritime rescue coordination centres (MRCC) maintaining continuous communication throughout the operation," it said.

The merchant vessel left for the Iranian port from Porbandar on December 2 with general cargo. On its way, it reportedly sank in the morning hours of Wednesday due to rough seas and flooding, said the release.

A distress call was received by the Indian Coast Guard's MRCC, Mumbai, which promptly alerted the ICG regional headquarters (North West) in Gandhinagar.

ICG ship Sarthak was immediately diverted to the reported location. The MRCC Pakistan was also contacted to alert mariners in the area, and their assistance was swiftly provided, the release said.

Later, Sarthak reached the probable location and conducted an extensive search operation.

The 12 crew members, who had abandoned their vessel and taken refuge in a small dinghy, were located, and rescued approximately 270 km west of Dwarka, within Pakistan's search and rescue region, it said.

The search for survivors was supported by a PMSA aircraft and the merchant ship MV Cosco Glory.

The rescued crew members were examined by a medical team onboard ship Sarthak and were reported to be in good health. They were being transported back to Porbandar harbour, the release added.