A Chinese carrier sailing near Mumbai requested help after a crew member was injured
The Indian Navy airlifted a Chinese sailor who was critically injured aboard the Zhong Shan Men, which was sailing around 370 kilometers from the port city of Mumbai, officials said on Wednesday.
The city’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Center received a distress call requesting immediate evacuation from the Chinese ship on July 23, ANI news agency reported. According to the caller, one of the sailors, 51, had suffered an injury leading to blood loss.
A helicopter was dispatched from the Indian Navy’s INS Shikra air station to carry out the rescue mission. The task was complicated by “challenging weather conditions with winds over 45 knots and heavy rolling of the ship” and “non-availability of continuous deck,” the navy stated. Nevertheless, the patient was successfully airlifted from the bridge wing of the vessel and transported back to the air station. Later, he was transferred to a hospital for medical attention.
An Indian Coast Guard vessel in the vicinity was also diverted toward the Chinese carrier to render assistance.
The incident was reported days after an Indian warship rescued eight Indians and a Sri Lankan national who after a Comoros-flagged oil tanker, the MT Falcon Prestige, capsized off the coast of Oman.
This comes as India expands its naval presence in the Arabian Sea region amid increased piracy and violent drone attacks on cargo ships in the Red Sea as tensions in the Middle East soar. India has re-launched 2019’s Operation Sankalp to ensure the safe transit of Indian-flagged vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating security concerns in the region.
Notably, India and China have had a tense relationship since June 2020, when troops clashed in the disputed Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Himalayas, causing casualties on both sides. Earlier this month, New Delhi and Beijing agreed to “redouble efforts through diplomatic and military channels” to find an “early resolution” to longstanding border disputes.
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