Two Indian Navy divers were rescued on Sunday morning after they got adrift during the search operation that was carried out to trace two fishermen who went missing on Saturday after their fishing boat sank in the wee hours. The fishing boat sank around 56 kms west off Mumbai. The naval divers went adrift on Saturday night during an attempt to rescue the missing fisherman from ill-fated fishing boat ‘Dutta Sai’. defence spokesperson said the two divers survived the whole night in water under adverse weather and sea conditions and were picked up by a fishing boat ‘Ram Dutta Sai’ on Sunday at 6 AM. “The SAR operation was closely coordinated between the Navy, Coast Guard, ONGC and Fishermen Association at Mumbai,” said the official. Meanwhile, the search for the missing fishermen is still on. A massive search and rescue (SAR) operation has been launched by the Navy, Coast Guard and ONGC involving 10 ships and four aircrafts to locate the two missing fishermen and the two brave naval divers on Sunday. The official said ICG ship has taken over all rescued fishermen from MV Dependable, provided them first aid and food and their condition is reported stable.On Saturday, the two fishermen reportedly went missing after the fishing boat they sailed with 14 others sank approximately 30 nautical miles (56 kms) west off Mumbai. The Indian Merchant ShipMV Dependablepassing from the spot at around 7am rescued 14 and made alert to the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) which took the rescued on board for further aid. The fishing boatDutta Saisank at around 4am and the fishermen managed to remain floated in rough sea and bad weather for almost three hours before the ships came for their aid, the ICG spokesperson told TOI. The fishing boat from Mumbai coast sailed out probably on Friday and sank the next day at around 4am. “Total 16 crews were on board fishing boat when it sank. Fourteen crews were recovered in morning by the ship MV Dependable, which was near the incident site. ICG Ship Samudra Prahari on coastal patrol was diverted and reached area at 2.30pm. The ICG Dornier aircraft from Daman was launched to undertake air search for 02 more missing fisherman, who have not yet been sighted,” said the official.
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