Indian Coast Guard Ships rescued 108 Rohingyas from Andaman Sea

Source webindia, 2 Mar

 

Indian Coast Guard Ship C-145 and Aruna Asaf Ali in a precise and crisp operation rescued 108 precious human lives during an operation which lasted night of February 28 and early hours of March 1 from high seas.

'The operation was initially launched, in response of panic calls requesting CG assistance raised by M/s Punj Lloyd, Mumbai complaining illegal entry by some unknown people onboard barge Gunpati, which was being towed from Myanmar to Mumbai,' Commandant SSN Bajpai, Chief Staff Officer (Operations) of A & N Coast Guard region told UNI today.

Commandant Bajpai added that Tug Star Jakarta which was towing unmanned barge Ganpati from Myanmar to Mumbai reported illegal entry of about 15 people onboard barge Ganpati and presence of some boats in vicinity on February 28 at 1620 hours.

'On receipt of the information, Interceptor Boat C-145 under the command of Comdt(JG) SR Nagendrgan was pressed into action and ship sailed out within 30 minutes from Diglipur. The ship intercepted Tug Star Jakarta at 2100 hours and embarked Coast Guard Boarding Team onboard barge Ganpati. After boarding the vessel,it was found that barge had 108 Myanmarese who were at sea since February 15 and had no food and water for past 07 days. Condition of the personnel was critical due to severe dehydration and starvation and required immediate medical aid & evacuation. It was also reported one 03 year old boy had expired on February 28 and was given burial at sea by Myanmarese,' the Coast Guard Commandant added. Considering urgency of rescuing large number of people, ICGS Aruna Asaf Ali under the command of Comdt MS Gill, was also directed to rush for rendering assistance.

The officers and men of CG ships C-145 and Aruna Asaf Ali battled rough seas during overnight operation and successfully rescued 108 Myanmarese from barge Ganpati. The rescued Myanmarese were provided much needed food, water and first Aid by Coast Guard ships.

'Considering seriousness of the situation, all nodes of the Coast Guard were put on to higher state of preparedness throughout the night. The Operations team at Regional Headquarters and District Headquarters of Coast Guard effectively coordinated for accomplishment of the mission. All the rescued personnel were brought to Diglipur and handed over to local police for providing further medical aid,' Commandant SSN Bajpai added. UNI SKR BM RD 1818 NNNN