Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised Indian Navy for carrying out the “courageous mission” to rescue 21 crew members, including 25 Indians, from a hijacked merchant vessel.
Addressing the all-India DGP conference in Jaipur, Rajasthan, Modi lauded Navy’s efforts to cover 2000km distance to rescue the Liberian-flagged ship in the Arabian Sea.
“In the last couple of days, the Indian Navy executed a courageous mission. On receiving intel about a merchant vessel facing a hijack threat in the Arabian Sea, they covered a distance of 2000 km to rescue the ship. The Indian Navy, alongside Marine Commandos, successfully safeguarded 21 crew members including 15 Indians,” PM Modi said during the event.
Modi also highlighted how jubilant workers chanted “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” after their rescue.
“Many of you must have seen the footage where, following their rescue by the Indian Navy from the attempted hijack, the crew members were chanting ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’,” Modi added.
Earlier on Friday, Indian Naval comandos from elite force MARCOs boarded the hijacked vessel and safely evacuated all the crew members.
Five to six pirates had reportedly boarded the Liberian-flagged merchant vessel in an attempt to hijack it.
The commandos sanitised the vessel and confirmed pirates were not there when they boarded.
“The attempt of hijacking by the pirates was probably abandoned with the forceful warning by the Indian Navy MPA of interception by Indian Naval warship,” the Navy said.
The prime minister also highlighted the the sucess of ISRO’s Aditya L1 mission, saying such achievements show that India is emerging as a major power in the world.
The prime minister said that the success of Aditya-L1 is similar to that of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.