Sailor safe after miraculous rescue
New Delhi/ Kochi, Sept. 24: Indian Navy sailor Abhilash Tomy was rescued from the Indian Ocean near Australia in a multination operation on Monday, three days after he suffered a grievous back injury when a powerful storm hit his boat while he was on a solo race around the world, Navy officials said.
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the commander is “conscious and doing okay” after his ordeal.
Tomy, 39, who was sailing as part of the Golden Globe Race (GGR) — a solo sailboat race around the world — drifted in the sea for three days before he was rescued by French fishing vessel Osiris, officials said.
His boat Thuriya was hit by a deadly storm, about 1,900 nautical miles from Perth, Australia, on Friday. The main mast of his boat was ripped off by around 15-metre high waves, they said.
Navy spokesperson Capt. D. K. Sharma said French fishing vessel Osris, assisted by Indian Navy’s P8I surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, reached close to Thuriya around 11.30 hrs (IST) and carried out a successful rescue operation using a small boat.
“Cdr Tomy was rescued by a boat and rescue team from Osiris. The rescue team shifted Cdr Tomy in a stretcher from Thuriya to Osiris using their Gemini boat. He has been reported to be conscious and has been provided with initial medical care,” he said.
Capt. Sharma said Osiris proceeded to rescue a second sailor whose boat was also damaged in the storm. Thereafter, the French vessel will move to take shelter at Ile Amsterdam, about 100 nautical miles north of the rescue position. The island has a small hospital.
Indian Naval ship Satpura has been sent to bring the commander, a Kirti Chakra awardee, back to India.
The Australian Rescue Coordination Centre in Canberra coordinated the rescue mission in cooperation with many agencies, including the Australian Defence Department and the Indian Navy.
According to rescue officer Phil Gaden in Australia, Tomy had a severely injured back.
“We believe that he’s very severely restricted in his ability to manoeuvre, his mobility is affected, Gaden said.
Tomy was in the third position in the race and sailed over 10,500 nautical miles in the last 84 days, since July 1 when the competition began.
On Sunday, he managed to get in touch with the organisers of the race in France through messages and requested for help as he could not move on his own.
“A sense of relief to know that naval officer @abhilashtomy is rescued by the French fishing vessel. He’s conscious and doing okay. The vessel will shift him to a nearby island (I’lle Amsterdam) by evening. INS Satpura will take him to Mauritius for medical attention,” Sitharaman tweeted.
“Praise the Lord. I am so happy...,” V. C. Tomy, a retired Naval personnel himself, told mediapersons at his home in Udayamperoor near Kochi.
— PTI