PANAJI
14 fishermen were rescued by 30 Drishti lifesavers in a major operation when their boat capsized off the coast at Velsao late Friday night.
Over 75 fishermen have so far been rescued in 15 incidents involving boats capsizing in the sea over the last two months and the incident at Velsao was the first to have taken place late into the night.
The Drishti lifesaving team received an SOS call from a local fisherman about a fishing boat with 14 person onboard which had capsized at around 9.30 pm off Velsao.
Drishti Deputy Manager Shashikant Jadhav called in the force from across locations and swiftly a 30-member lifesaving team plunged into search and rescue operations.
Two jet-skis were pressed into action while 2 jeeps with oxygen and first aid kits were kept on standby. An ambulance backup was called in case of any emergency.
Pitch dark conditions, winds, choppy waters and undercurrents made the operation a challenging one.
In a two-hour operation, the lifesavers made several trips on the Jet skis to bring all 14 stranded fisherman safely back ashore.
The well coordinated rescue operation was led by Drishti Deputy Manager Shashikant Jadhav, who rescued 12 fishermen himself.
After preliminary checkups and first aid, all rescued fishermen were found to be safe and fine.
