Coast Guard rescues crew of bulk carrier vessel stranded off Andhra coast during cyclone

Amaravati, Oct 29 (PTI) The Indian Coast Guard on Thursday rescued 13 crew members of a Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier vessel, Sigma Pearl, stranded off the Andhra Pradesh coast in the Bay of Bengal due to rough weather conditions that prevailed due to the very severe cyclonic storm, Arnab.

    The Coast Guard rescue operation was still underway off the seaside village of Antaravedi in Dr BR Ambedkar Konaseema district to airlift the remaining seven crew members from the 180-metre-long vessel, an official press release said on Thursday.

    "The Indian Coast Guard has intensified its helicopter rescue operation to rescue the merchant ship crew stranded in the Bay of Bengal near Antaravedi. Until now, 13 crew members have been safely airlifted into Indian Coast Guard vessel Sujay," it said.

    The Handy-size vessel with 20,809 gross tonnage left Vizag for Singapore but was caught up in the rough sea during the very severe cyclonic storm.

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