NEW DELHI, Nov 18: The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued seven Indian fishermen who had been kidnapped by a Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) ship near the India-Pakistan Maritime Boundary.
The rescue operation took place on Sunday when the Coast Guard received a distress signal from an Indian fishing boat (IFB) operating near the No-Fishing Zone (NFZ) in the afternoon and chased the PMSA ship “Nusrat” for over two hours, said an ICG release.
“At approximately 15:30 pm, an ICG ship on patrol received a distress call from an Indian fishing boat operating near the NFZ. The call reported that another Indian fishing boat, Kal Bhairav, had been intercepted by a PMSA vessel, and seven Indian crew members on board had been apprehended,” the release stated.
Despite the PMSA ship’s attempts to retreat, the ICG ship intercepted it and persuaded the PMSA to release the fishermen, an ICG official said. The Coast Guard has also shared a video of the rescue mission, showing the ICG ship Agrim chasing the Pakistani ship PMSA Nusrat to rescue the Indian fishermen who were being taken into Pakistani waters.
According to the official, the ICG ship safely retrieved the seven fishermen, all of whom were found to be in stable condition. However, the Indian fishing boat, Kal Bhairav, was reported to have been damaged and sunk during the incident. On Monday, the ship returned to Okha Harbour, where a joint investigation was launched.
(Manas Dasgupta)