The India Navy and the coast guard deployed aircrafts and ships in search-and-rescue operations on the Maharashtra coast post the cyclone threat. Several fishing trawlers which had ventured out a few days ago were stuck in the sea due to rough weather.
A Chetak helicopter of the navy was directed off Ratnagiri coast to rescue eight fishermen, including a minor, from a sinking trawler on Wednesday. The fishermen were dropped on the nearby highway, said defence public relation officer M Nambiar.
In another incident, the coast guard deployed a Dornier aircraft and a ship to rescue 16 crew members on two offshore support vessels of Bombay High, an oil rig off Mumbai coast. The navy had deployed nine teams. The coast guard had deployed an aircraft and two ships to search for the missing fishing boats.
