Navy, Coast Guard rescue 20 off Mumbai coast

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard rescued 20 people early Monday after receiving a distress signal from a merchant vessel off the Mumbai coast, an official said.

The vessel, Jindal Kamakshi, with 20 people aboard, was 40 nautical miles from Mumbai harbour and 25 nautical miles off Vasai coast when the Indian Navy received distress messages from it around midnight.

The ship had tilted heavily, and was battling bad weather and heavy rain.

A Seaking helicopter and a ship were pressed into service for rescue efforts.

Amid extremely bad weather conditions prevailing in and around Mumbai, the Seaking helicopter embarked around 7.45 a.m. on Monday to evacuate the crew to INS Shikra, the naval base at Colaba.

"The sea was very rough and visibility just one nautical mile," a navy spokesperson said.

The Seaking 42C helicopter finally rescued 19 crew members of the ship.

The ship's master, who stayed back, was rescued later by a helicopter of the Indian Coast Guard.