ICG ship Sujeet rescues seven crew members of MSV Messaih

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship Sujeet on Saturday rescued seven crew members of the ship - MSV Messiah - that sank off Kalpeni in Lakshadweep Group of Islands.

The vessel was sailing from Thoothukudi on January 19, carrying cargo towards Kavaratti. At around 0500 hours, the vessel was said to be flooding onboard. As a result, it began sinking while the it was off the Kalpeni Island.

The crew had called the owner at Thoothukudi. The owner altered the port control, stating that the vessel will enter for shelter. However, when the vessel did not enter the Kalpeni port, the port control alerted Indian Coast Guard at around 1130 hr.

The ISG ship patrolling in the area was diverted and an aircraft was launched from Kochi. An interceptor boat also sailed from Kavaratti for locating the distressed vessel, said a Defence press release.

The Coast Guard Dornier sighted the crew of Messiah floating in a partially submerged lifeboat around 30 nautical miles south-west of Kalpeni island. The ship was vectored towards the lifeboat and despite strong winds and adverse weather all the crew were picked up safely. The crew later told that their vessel sank at around 0900 hr and since then they were floating in a lifeboat praying to be rescued.

All personnel rescued are safe onboard the Coast guard ship and will be disembarked at Kavaratti on Sunday morning, the release said.