Mumbai: One fisherman is feared to have drowned after a tugboat, ‘Revati’, capsized off Worli coast on Monday morning, while six other fishermen were rescued. ‘Revati’ was on its way to Tarapur from Mumbai with a crew of seven members, when around 11 am, it capsized off the Worli coast, said a Coast Guard spokesperson.
A Coast Guard helicopter and an onshore patrol vessel, with personnel from the Mumbai police coastal unit, were sent to rescue the team.According to a statement issued by the Coast Guard, a distress call was received at 11.15 am, after which an Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS), Amartya, a fast patrol vessel on surveillance duty, was diverted for the search and rescue operation.
When ICGS Amartya reached the spot, it rescued six occupants from the sinking tug. The rescued occupants have been identified as Rashid Sorathiya, 38, Tonoy Chalak, 22, Ramesh Keni, 55, Dilip Yadav, 29, Shanu Kumar, 19, and Saleem Siddiqui, 29. The missing person is Abdul Azeez, 53, a Kolkata resident, is feared drowned, said Rashmi Karandikar, deputy commissioner of police (Port Zone).
A Coast Guard spokesperson said, the occupants claimed they knew swimming and had safety gear on the boat, which is yet to be verified. The rescued occupants were handed over to Yellow Gate Police, who will be ascertaining the reason for the capsize and if there was any foul play involved.
The rescued tug occupants were given medical aid and their condition is stable, police said. As part of the search and rescue operation for Azeez, two ships, one from Coastal Police and the other from Coast Guard have been deployed, along with a Chetak helicopter.
Apart from a surface search by the two ships, two helicopter sorties have been launched as part of a co-ordinated sea-air search, said the Coast Guard spokesperson.
