Fishermen rescue 15 peers in distress as their boats sink off Umargaon

Even before the Coast Guard and the Indian Navy could reach 15 fishermen drowning off Umargaon (near Palghar) after their boats sank late on Sunday night, fellow fishermen sailing in the vicinity successfully rescued them.

"An information from Palghar police station was received by Coast Guard headquarters in Mumbai at 9.50pm about two fishing boats -- Himsagar and Krishna Sagar -- developing engine failure and sinking at sea near Umargaon," said a Coast Guard official.

Thereafter, Indian Coast Guard Ship Agrim was diverted to the location to render assistance. Additionally, a helicopter from Daman too was directed to fly to the incident site at the first light on Monday. Another helicopter, a Seaking 42B of the Indian Navy was also launched from Mumbai.

Meanwhile, two fishing boats were launched from Dahanu by the local agent. They reached the location around 2am, but none of the 15 fishermen was sighted.

The Coast Guard ship reached in the early hours of Monday, by then other fishermen had rescued their 15 stranded peers and transferred them to a local hospital in Umargaon.

"The helicopter launched confirmed sinking of both the boats," added an officer.