Dramatic moment Indian coastguard airlifts sailors off a sinking ship

Dramatic moment Indian coastguard airlifts sailors off a sinking ship as huge waves break over the deck and threaten to sweep them away

  • MV Mangalem raised alarm as vessel started taking on water off coast of India
  • Coastguard advised all 16 crew members to stay aboard and wait for rescuers
  • Two helicopters winched them aboard in ‘daredevil sea operation’ in rough seas 

Sixteen crew members are rescued from a sinking ship in rough waters by helicopter in this dramatic footage.

The first mate of the MV Mangalam raised the alarm on Thursday when the weather suddenly worsened and it started taking on water in the Arabian Sea.

Two rescue helicopters and a ship from the Indian Coast Guard were dispatched to the barge, which was sinking near the Raigarh district of Maharashtra in western India.

A member of the crew is winched from the deck of the ship which is already partially underwater

The Indian Coast Guard later tweeted the ship was reported to have run aground off the coast

All crew members were safely winched to safety as the bow of the vessel disappeared beneath the waves. 

The coast guard later seemed to suggest the Mangalam had run aground, causing it to partially sink.

They tweeted: ‘In a daredevil sea-air coordinated operation in inclement weather and rough sea conditions, Chetak helicopters ex-Daman & Ship Subhadra Kumari Chauhan rescued 16 crew from Barge MV Mangalam reported aground off #Revdanda #Mumbai today.

Two helicopters were despatched to help the stricken MV Mangalam on Thursday 

The cargo ship, built in 1994, ran into trouble in strong winds and heavy rain off the coast

‘All crew safe. @DefenceMinIndia.’

One person replied to the post on Twitter: ‘Great team and salute to all the team members to complete the task with patience and rescue all of them.’

The MV Mangalam was built in 1994.  

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