ICG rescues seven Indian fishermen caught by Pakistan Navy, two-hour drama unfolds at sea

NEW DELHI : The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) Ship Agrim rescued seven Indian fishermen after a two-hour pursuit of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) ship PMS Nusrat. The incident occurred on Sunday near the maritime boundary between the two countries off the coast of Gujarat. The fishermen’s boat, Kal Bhairav, had sunk, and the Pakistani ship Nusrat had taken them into custody. However, the ICG ship intercepted the Pakistani vessel and forced it to release the seven Indian fishermen.

The Indian Coast Guard received a distress call and immediately sprang into action, deploying the ship Agrim, which was patrolling the no-fishing zone (NFZ) near the maritime boundary. The Pakistani ship Nusrat tried to retreat, but the Indian Coast Guard chased it, making it clear that they would not let the fishermen be taken away.

The officials clearly told them that under no condition, it would allow the Pakistani ship to take away Indian fishermen from fishing boat Kaal Bhairav from Indian waters, reported ANI quoting defence officials.

“At approximately 15:30 pm, an ICG ship on patrol received a distress call from an Indian fishing boat operating near the NFZ. The call reported that another Indian fishing boat, Kal Bhairav, had been intercepted by a PMSA vessel, and seven Indian crew members on board had been apprehended,” reported PTI quoting a statement from the ICG.

“The ICG ship was able to retrieve the seven fishermen safely, who were all found to be in stable medical condition.”

The Indian ship returned to the Okha harbour on Monday.

Meanwhile, a joint investigation involving the ICG, the Gujarat police, intelligence agencies, and fisheries department has undertaken to probe the circumstances leading to the collision (between PMSA vessel and IFB Kal Bhairav), and the subsequent rescue operation, said the release.