The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued 11 crew members of the distressed MV ITT Puma during a challenging night time search and rescue operation on August 26, 2024. The Mumbai-registered general cargo ship was en route from Kolkata to Port Blair when it reportedly sank about 90 nautical miles south of Sagar Island (West Bengal).
Initially, a distress signal was received at Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Chennai late evening on 25 August 2024. ICG Regional Headquarters (North East) at Kolkata immediately dispatched two ICG ships and a Dornier aircraft to the location. The Dornier aircraft, fitted with advanced night time sensors located the adrift lifeboats and observed red survival signals being emitted by the distressed crew.
Guided by the aircraft, the ICG ships reached the coordinates where two lifeboats with survivors were found tied together. Despite challenging weather, ICG ships Sarang and Amogha, accompanied by a Dornier aircraft, carried out a coordinated sea-air rescue operation late night of 25 August and early morning of 26 August, ensuring the safety of the crew.