After their boats capsized off Sagar Island, close to the India-Bangladesh International Maritime Border Line (IMBL), the Indian Coast Guard saved 20 Bangladeshi fishermen from the water.
Tuesday saw the rescue of the fishermen, who were then turned over to the Bangladesh Coast Guard.
A Coast Guard Dornier aircraft on a surveillance mission following the arrival of Cyclone Sitrang spotted the capsized boats and alerted the rescue crews, leading to the beginning of a search and rescue effort.
The fishing boat’s floats and wreckage were being clung to by the survivors. A life raft was dropped nearby by an Indian Coast Guard aircraft, which stayed there until the survivors boarded it.
The merchant ship Nanta Bhum was passing through the area on its way from Port Klang, Malaysia, to Kolkata when the pilot asked her to pick up 20 people from the life raft.
The Indian Coast Guard ship Vijaya afterwards took control of the 20 Bangladeshi fishermen.
