NE NEWS SERVICE
KARWAR, NOV 6
The Indian Coast Guard on Saturday announced that it has rescued seven fishermen by dousing the fire in the boat they were in, near Karwar coast in Karnataka.
.@IndiaCoastGuard saves lives of 7 fishermen in distress due to fire engulfed on a fishing boat, IFB Varda Vinayaka-I, at a distance of 10 NM from Karwar light house.@SpokespersonMoD@DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/l778UjdhRr
— Defence PRO Bengaluru (@Prodef_blr) November 6, 2021
The fire mishap was reported around 10 pm to the Marine Rescue Sub Centre in Mangalore about IFB Varda Vinayaka-1 being ablaze and the rescue operation is said to have taken over three hours amid inclement weather.
While no casualty has been reported, the rescued fishermen have been sent to the district hospital for medical attention. The Coastal Guard vessel C 155 provided aid to IFB Varda by towing the gutted boat to Karwar fishing dock at 4 am. The Coastal Security Police has initiated an investigation but initial reports have suggested that the ill-fated boat caught fire due to a short circuit in the wheelhouse.
Sources informed that IFB Varda was approximately 10 nautical miles from Karwar lighthouse when fire engulfed the fishing vessel. Also, the Indian coast did not deploy any air assets to carry out the Search and Rescue (SAR) and reports suggest that they were swift to reach the coast of Mangalore in the Arabian Sea.
Reportedly, the Indian Coast Guard, along with specialist teams, arrived at the site at around 11:30 pm on November 5 and successfully doused the fire and rescued the endangered fishermen.
