Injured Indian sailor rescued by French vessel
A seriously injured Indian sailor stranded in the middle of the Indian Ocean has been rescued and is safe, officials say.
Solo yachtsman Abhilash Tomy was stranded 3200 kilometres (2000 miles) off the coast of Western Australia after his boat was badly damaged during a storm on Friday.
He was participating in the Golden Globe round-the-world race.
Mr Tomy sent a message to race organisers saying he had a severe back injury.
“Tomy was taken out of his yacht on a stretcher. He is conscious, and he is safe,” Indian Navy spokesperson Captain DK Sharma told reporters.
Captain Philip Donde, the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe under sail who has worked closely with Tomy, told the BBC Marathi service about his “sense of relief ”. “There was a bit of anxiety but I was sure he’d be rescued,” he said.
“He’s quite a focused and determined young man,” Mr Donde said. “I was sure that he’d do his best in any situation that he has landed into.” Indian yachtswoman Taramati Matiwade also praised Tomy, telling the BBC his courage is “endless”.
“Unfortunately, humans can’t fight nature,” she said.
Rescue teams from various nations, including India, had raced towards Mr Tomy, but the French fishing vessel Osiris reached him first. A doctor and a stretcher are on board the vessel. Earlier, Captain Sharma told the BBC that the plan was to transfer Mr Tomy to an Australian naval ship, which sailed from Perth to the loca- tion on Sunday morning. Mr Tomy was able to communicate using a texting unit, after his satellite phone was broken. He managed to send an initial message saying he has a severe back injury and was immobilised, unable to eat or drink. On Sunday, race organisers said he sent another message, “Lugged cans of ice tea, Having that. Vomiting continuously. Chest burning”.