A team of the Indian Navy on Sunday located naval commander Abhilash Tomy who was injured after his yacht was hit by a storm mid-way across the southern Indian Ocean while taking part in the Golden Globe Race, reported Mathrubhumi.
Tomy suffered a back injury on Friday after his yacht was de-masted in a severe storm with 14-metre-high waves. “Tomy is in communication with the race control at France through messages,” PTI quoted a defence spokesperson as saying. “Race control is relaying messages to JRCC [Joint Rescue Control Centre] Australia. He has requested for a stretcher as he is not able to move on his own.”
The Navy’s P8I aircraft, which flew from Mauritius early on Sunday, located the “mast broken boat rolling excessively”, said the defence spokesperson. His vessel is in the South Indian Ocean, about 1,900 nautical miles (3,518 km) from Perth in Australia.
The spokesperson said Tomy has responded by ping on Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon as the aircraft was flying over him. Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon is a device which alerts rescue services in case of an accident at sea.
Tomy sent a satellite text message that was received on Saturday, saying: “ACTIVATED EPIRB. CANT WALK. MIGHT NEED STRETCHER”, Golden Globe Race organisers said, according to The Guardian.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority is coordinating the rescue. A spokesperson said they have arranged for a French fisheries patrol vessel to go to the scene.
Golden Globe Race organisers said a search and rescue plane, and a Perth-based navy frigate would also help in the rescue.
Tomy, who was the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe in 2013, was the only Indian participating in the race, which involves a 30,000-mile solo circumnavigation of the globe.
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