After a 2-hour struggle, seven Indian fishermen were rescued by Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA).
The incident occurred on Sunday in the mid-sea off the Gujarat coast near the maritime border between the two countries.
The fishermen from the damaged and sunken Indian fishing boat Kaal Bhairav were captured by a Pakistani ship near the maritime border between the two countries.
The Coast Guard swung into action after receiving a distress signal from an Indian fishing boat (IFB) operating near the No-Fishing Zone (NFZ) in the afternoon.
The PMSA ship attempted to retreat, however, the ICG intercepted the Pakistani ship and convinced the personnel on board to release the seven captured Indian fishermen.
“At about 15:30 hours, an ICG ship on patrol received a distress call from an Indian fishing boat operating near the NFZ. The call informed that another Indian fishing boat, Kaal Bhairav, had been hit by a PMSA ship. was intercepted by the Indian Navy, and seven Indian crew members on board the ship were captured,” PTI reported quoting a statement from the release.
“The ICG ship was able to safely evacuate seven fishermen, all of whom were found in stable medical condition.”
The Indian ship returned to Okha port on Monday.
Meanwhile, a joint investigation involving the ICG, Gujarat Police, intelligence agencies and the Fisheries Department has examined the circumstances of the collision (between the PMSA ship and IFB Kaal Bhairav) and the subsequent rescue operation, the release said.
