A FRENCH ship is making an attempt to rescue an Indian sailor who is unable to move with a back injury and alone in the remote southern Indian Ocean.
Abhilash Tomy’s boat Thuriya lost its mast during a storm as he took part in the round-the-world solo Golden Globe yacht race.
The race organisers shared messages from him on Twitter where he described his chest burning, vomiting and asking for a “rescue ETA”.
The fisheries patrol boat Osiris is heading the 460 miles to the Indian naval officer’s aid.
The yacht is in Australia’s search and rescue zone 2200 miles southwest of the Australian city of Perth and 3000 kilometers southeast of the French island Reunion.
Phil Gaden, of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority search and rescue, said the trip could be treacherous.
“It’s going to be a very difficult situation onboard,” Mr Gaden said.
“We do know he’s got a very severely injured back and we believe that he’s very restricted in his ability to manoeuvre. We also know he’s having difficulty keeping fluids down.”
Conditions were reasonably good for the area with a southwesterly wind blowing at up 46 kph (29 mph) and a 3-metre (10-foot) swell, Mr Gaden said. “It’s one of the most remote areas on the planet almost equidistant from any of the search and rescue facilities,” he added.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel