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It was a daring rescue by the Indian Coast Guards (ICG) carried out in the dead of the night at the high seas.

A ship sank in the middle of the ocean. A reconnaissance mission was carried out by a ICG aircraft with best night time gadgets. Two fast moving ICG military ships were despatched to the location and by the time of sunrise 11 crew members of the sank ship were saved.

That was in short what had happened on Sunday night the 25/26 August 2024.

In a detail statement issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD)  – The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on August 26, 2024 rescued 11 crew members from the distressed MV ITT Puma during a challenging night-time Search and Rescue operation.

The Mumbai-registered general cargo vessel was en route from Kolkata to Port Blair when it reportedly sank about 90 nautical miles south of Sagar Island (West Bengal).

The Maritime Search & Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Chennai initially received a distress signal late in the evening on August 25, 2024.

The ICG’s Regional Headquarters (North East) in Kolkata promptly mobilised two ICG vessels and a Dornier aircraft to the site.

The Dornier aircraft, equipped with advanced night-capable sensors detected adrift life rafts and sighted survival red flares from the distressed crew.

Guided by the aircraft, the ICG ship reached the coordinates where two life rafts were found tied together, housing the survivors.

Despite challenging weather conditions, the ICG ships Sarang and Amogh, alongside the Dornier aircraft, executed a coordinated sea-air rescue, ensuring the safety of the crew during the late hours of 25 August and the early hours of 26 August.