Vessel located

The aircraft remained on the task for two hours in the area and landed at Mauritius. Heavy rains have been reported from the area.

“Tomy can only be rescued by naval ships,” the spokesperson said.

He had on Sunday managed to get in touch with race organisers in France through messages and had requested for a stretcher as he could not move on his own. He was representing India in the Golden Globe Race 2018 (GGR) on indigenously-built sailing vessel SV Thuraya.

Tomy, who became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe in 2013, is the only Indian participating in the race that involves a gruelling 30,000-mile solo circumnavigation of the globe.

His vessel is in the south Indian Ocean, about 1,900 nautical miles from Perth in Australia.

Tomy’s vessel was dismasted in extremely rough weather and sea conditions, with wind speeds of 130 kmph. He was in third position in the race and has sailed over 10,500 nautical miles in the last 84 days, since the race started on July 1.

A report from France on Friday night had said 70 knot winds and 14-metre-high waves have left the yachts of Tomy and Ireland’s Gregor McGuckin dismasted, and twice knocked down the yacht of second-placed Dutchman Mark Slats.

Both McGuckin and Slats had reported that they are okay, but 39-year-old Tomy, making his second solo circumnavigation, has been injured, it had said.

It had also said other entrants were asked to make towards Tomy’s position if possible, and added that the weather was extreme.

The nearest yacht was McGuckin’s Biscay 36 ‘Hanley Energy Endurance’, some 90 miles to the southwest of Tomy’s ‘Thuriya’, but she too was dismasted in the same storm.