Thirty-eight sailors from Gujarat, who were left stranded in the Arabian Sea off Yemen coast due to cyclonic storm Makenu last week, were rescued by Indian Navy and brought to Porbandar on Thursday.
“The Indian nationals were stranded for nearly 10 days after severe cyclonic storm Mekenu devastated the area around Socotra Island (off Yemem coast). INS Sunayna was diverted from Gulf of Aden to Socotra Island for search and rescue operations after Indian Navy received a distress call from Directorate General of Shipping and Indian Sailing Vessels Association. The 38 Indian nationals were successfully rescued/evacuated in the early morning of June 3. Thereafter, the ship also undertook intensive surface search and aerial reconnaissance of the area to look for any more survivors,” an official release from the Navy said. All the 38 sailors were put through mandatory immigration checks and customs clearance. Later on, they were handed over to local police to facilitate their return to their native places.
The search and rescue operation was code-named Operation Nistar.