20 Bangladeshi Fishermen, Stranded At Sea, Rescued By Indian Coast Guard

A group of 20 Bangladeshi fishermen was rescued by the coast guard in the Indian Ocean post-landfall of Cyclone Sitrang on Tuesday.

Cyclone Sitrang spared West Bengal but neighbouring Bangladesh was not so lucky. At least 35 people died as the cyclone made landfall in Barisal district.

The country had evacuated nearly 10 lakh people from the path of the cyclone which made landfall near the southern town of Khepupara. Communications and power lines snapped due to winds gusting at nearly 90 kilometres an hour.

After the landfall, the Indian Coast Guard launched its Dornier aircraft to look for any vessels stranded at sea. During a surveillance sortie, the aircraft spotted around 20 persons in the water, about 90 nautical miles (166 km) from Sagar Island in West Bengal, near the Indo-Bangladesh International Maritime Border Line.

They were clinging to floats and debris from their sunken boats that had capsized due to the cyclone. In a Search and Rescue (SAR) operation, the aircraft dropped a life raft into the water and remained in the area till all survivors were on board.

The aircraft also alerted a merchant ship 'Nanta Bhum' which was on its way from Port Klang in Malaysia to Kolkata and was sailing nearby. The vessel was asked to ferry the fishermen to Indian Coast Guard Ships Vijaya, Varad, and C-426 and look for more survivors.

The 20 Bangladeshi fishermen were brought aboard Vijaya and given medical treatment. The fishermen will now be handed over to the Bangladesh Coast Guard in accordance with existing norms.

The Coast Guard, in coordination with the governments of Odisha and West Bengal, had planned several interventions to ensure all fishing boats returned to the shores before the weather got bad and had coordinated with the Bangladesh Coast Guard as well. However, these fishermen had somehow remained at sea and were caught in the cyclone which destroyed their boats and left them adrift, staring at a certain death. The timely intervention of the Coast Guard saved their lives.

After the landfall in Bangladesh, moderate to heavy rain and storms were reported in parts of northeast India, particularly in Tripura, Meghalaya, eastern Meghalaya, Assam, and parts of Arunachal Pradesh. The cyclone first weakened to a depression before a low-pressure area formed over Bangladesh and Meghalaya.