The Indian Coast Guard carried out a “daring operation” in an endeavor to rescue a Chinese national from a Panama-flagged research vessel in the Arabian Sea on Wednesday, the Indian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
The operation was initiated following a distress signal from the vessel.
The Indian Defense Ministry said that the vessel, MV Dong Fang Kan Tan No 2, was around 200 kms from the Arabian Sea en route from China to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) when it raised a signal to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Mumbai.
The ministry statement said that one of the crew members, Yin Weigyang, had a cardiac attack and “required urgent medical attention”.
“The communication was established immediately with the vessel which was enroute from China to UAE and provided necessary telemedicine advice,” the statement said.
It added that the patient was airlifted by Coast Guard’s Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) MK-III and was “administered first aid” on CGAS Daman.
“He was later transferred to agent of the vessel for further medical management,” the Defense Ministry stated.
The Indian statement lauded the swift operation by the Coast Guard which helped in "saving of a precious life of foreign national mid-sea".