A total of 11 fishermen were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Sunday 140 miles west off new Mangalore from a fishing boat which caught fire due to a cylinder blast.

According to ICG, Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) received a message which stated that a massive fire erupted on a Tamil Nadu fishing boat bearing registration number 'TN-15-MM-5297' due to a cylinder blast.

"Apparently, the fishing boat had 11 fishermen crew onboard. MRCC Mumbai immediately swung into action and diverted Two Offshore Patrol Vessels namely Sachet and Sujeet patrolling in area for immediate assistance. In addition, ISN was also activated to seek assistance from passing by Merchant Ships to which two merchant ships responded. However, the ICG with State of Art ship proceeded to datum with maximum speed within 3 hr from the time the message was received," stated a press release.

The incident happened during the wee hours of January 10 (Sunday) and the Indian Coast Guard as well as aircraft CG Dornier patrolling in the Arabian seas were diverted to vector the distressed fishing boat.

"At 1115 h, CG Dornier spotted the fishing boat in approximate position 140 nautical miles West off New Mangalore. A two-way communication was established on VHF Channel with fishermen to ascertain the casualty status and be of moral support to the Fishermen," the release said.

"ICGS Sachet and Sujeet reached the datum at 1300 h on January 10 and immediately assessed the casualty and evacuated the severely injured and administered medical management. Braving the high seas, the ship headed for New Mangalore for further specialised hospital management in respect of the casualty," the release added.