Indian Navy evacuates three injured foreign crew from Panama-flagged ship off Goa coast

Mumbai, Mar 21 (PTI) The Indian Navy carried out a winching operation off the Goa coast in the early hours of Friday to evacuate two Chinese nationals and an Indonesian from a Panama flagged vessel after they sustained burn injuries.
The fourth crew, a Chinese national, had already succumbed to injuries, an Indian Navy official said.
The rescued crew were immediately flown to INS Hansa, Goa, from where they were shifted to a civil hospital for further medical care.
"In the early hours of March 21 the Indian Navy successfully carried out a critical Medical Evacuation (MEDEVAC) operation from MV Heilan Star, a Panama-flagged bulk carrier, located about 230 nautical miles west of Goa," the force said in a statement.
In the intervening night of March 20-21, the Indian Coast Guard's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre(MRCC) at Mumbai informed the Indian Navy of four crew members of MV Heilan Star having sustained severe burn injuries and requiring immediate advanced medical care, it added.
Responding swiftly, the Navy diverted two ships, INS Vikrant and Deepak, from their ongoing deployment to render aid.
"At first light on March 21, a Seaking helicopter from Vikrant carried out a challenging winching operation to evacuate three injured crew - two Chinese and one Indonesian nationals, from MV Heilan Star. The fourth crew had, sadly, already succumbed to injuries," the Navy said.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)