Ailing crew member of foreign ship rescued by Coast Guard off Gujarat coast

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) today rescued a sick crew member of a Malta-based cargo ship off the Gujarat coast near Porbandar in Arabian Sea.

"The Coast Guard today evacuated one crew of a Malta- based cargo ship off the Gujarat coast and provided him necessary medical treatment," Inspector General Kuldipsingh Sheoran, Commander Coast Guard region (north-west), said.

"We received a telephonic message for an urgent medical evacuation from a Malta-flagged LPG carrier 'Motor Tanker Hellas Serenity' that one of their crew members, named Kaloudis Gerasimos, was suffering from acute appendicitis," Sheoran said.

The ship was about 305 nautical miles from Gujarat coast and was advised to proceed to Porbandar for subsequent air-lifting of the crew member and medical treatment, he said.

The vessel arrived near Porbandar in the wee hours today and the Coast Guard's advance light helicopter successfully airlifted the patient and provided him first aid and medical treatment, Sheoran said.

The condition of the crew member is stable and he has been shifted to a Rajkot hospital for further treatment with the help of the vessel's local agent, he said. The cargo ship is an LPG carrier, on passage from Fujairah in United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Indonesia.