Mumbai: A medical team on board Indian Navy stealth frigate INS Trikand came to the rescue of a Pakistani fisherman in the Arabian Sea on Friday. The crew member of the fishing vessel had suffered multiple fractures and blood loss.
“The INS Trikand is mission-deployed in the Central Arabian Sea region. On Friday morning, the warship intercepted a distress call from the Iranian dhow Al Omeedi. Inquiry revealed that a crew member had suffered severe injuries to his hand while working on the engine. He had suffered blood loss and was in a critical condition. He had been transferred to another dhow FV Abdul Rehman Hanzia that was on its way to Iran,” an Indian Navy official said.
The dhow was nearly 350 nautical miles east of the Oman coast when the accident occurred. INS Trikand immediately altered course to intercept FV Abdul Rehman Hanzia. The fishing vessel had a 16-member crew. Eleven of them were Pakistanis – nine Balochis and two Sindhis – and the remaining Iranians. A team, comprising Marine Commandos (MARCOS), boarded the vessel and checked the crew member, a Balochi.
“As reported in the radio message, the condition of the man was critical. There had been a lot of blood loss and he had several fractures in his hand. The medical officer of INS Trikand personally attended to the injured man. After administering local anaesthesia, the ship’s medical team performed suturing and splinting on the injured fingers. The surgical procedure which lasted for over three hours, was successfully completed, and the bleeding was controlled in time. This medical intervention prevented potential permanent loss of the injured fingers due to gangrene,” the official added.
INS Trikand provided medical supplies, including antibiotics, to the crew members of the fishing vessel to ensure that the injured man remains in a stable state till they reach Iran. The entire crew expressed their deep gratitude to the Indian Navy for the timely assistance in saving their crewmate’s life.
