In a swift sea-air search and rescue mission, 11 seagoing fishermen who were stranded mid-sea in a vessel for almost 72 hours were rescued and towed to safety by coast guard personnel.

The Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Chennai received a distress email from the MV ITT Puma on 24 August.

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Responding to the SOS, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Regional Headquarters (North East), Kolkata mobilised two ICG vessels and a Dornier aircraft for search and rescue operations.

The Dornier aircraft, equipped with advanced night-capability, embarked on search for the missing crews. The Dornier aircraft later detected adrift life rafts. The distressed crews were firing survival red flares, which were sighted and promptly responded by ICG aircraft. With visual contact established, the aircraft directed the ICG ship towards the location of survivors, CG Paradip district headquarters said in a statement.

The ICG ship, on reaching the coordinates, identified two life rafts with orange canopies tied together. The survivors were seen signaling with whistles. This led to an unprecedented and extensive sea-air coordinated night Search and Rescue (SAR) operation, resulting in the rescue of 11 crew members during late hours of August 25 and the early hours of August 26.

The MV ITT Puma, a Mumbai-registered general cargo vessel, was en route from Kolkata to Port Blair when it reportedly sank 90 nautical miles south of Sagar Island. The SAR operation was executed by ICG ships Sarang and Amogh, along with the ICG Dornier aircraft, amid adverse weather and rough sea conditions.

The 11 crew members after being rescued were safely brought to Paradip Harbour by ICGS Sarang and ICGS Amogh on Tuesday. Post medical examination, the rescued crew were handed over to the representative of ITT Lines Pvt Ltd (owner of vessel ITT Puma) in good health and stable mental conditions.

The search for remaining three crew members continues with ICG ships and aircraft actively involved in the ongoing operation, concluded the CG Paradip.