Despite sour military ties, ICG rescues sick Chinese sailor in Bay of Bengal
The ill mariner was given first-aid by the ICG medical team on board the merchant vessel.
Kolkata: In sharp contrast to the China's aggression at the Sino-India border, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) evacuated a Chinese mariner who fell ill onboard to a merchant ship in the Bay of Bengal.
At around 5 pm on Saturday, the ICG station in Haldia received an immediate medical evacuation request from the master of a Panama registered merchant vessel Yan Dun Jiao-I which was about 64 nautical miles south of the Sagar Island in South 24 Parganas.
One of the crew members, Xia Jianting (46), was suffering from severe abdominal pain and continuous vomitting, said ICG (North East) deputy commandant Avinandan Mitra.
Swinging into action, the ICG Maritime Rescue Sub Centre diverted ICGS Raziya Sultana, which was patrolling in the exclusive economic zone of India in the deep sea, to the vessel.
The ill mariner was given first-aid by the ICG medical team onboard to the merchant vessel. When he became slightly stable by midnight, he was shifted to ICGS Raziya Sultana, said Eastern Command chief public relation officer Wing Commander SS Birdi.
Early on Sunday, an ICG fast interceptor boat C-418 was sent from Haldia to the sea. The patient was shifted to the boat which reached Haldia at around 11 am, Wing Commander Birdi added.
He was later handed over to the merchant vessel's local agent for his further treatment in Kolkata.