In a swift operation, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued 27 Bangladeshi fishermen on Thursday stranded on their fishing boat at sea, officials said here on Friday. The rescued fishermen were later handed over the Bangladesh Coast Guard.

Giving details, they said at about 1130 am, Indian Coast Guard Ship Amogh during patrol at Indo-Bangladesh International Maritime Border Line (IMBL), sighted a Bangladeshi fishing boat (BFB) Sagar II, adrift inside Indian waters.

During investigation it was revealed that the boat had a steering gear breakdown for the last two days and had been adrift since then, which lead to the boat drifting inside Indian waters.

The Indian Coast Guard technical team tried to identify and rectify the defect, but it was observed that the rudder of the boat was completely damaged and could not be repaired at sea.

As the sea state and weather conditions were conducive, it was decided that the distressed boat will be towed to the Indo- Bangladesh IMBL and handed over to another Bangladeshi fishing boat operating across IMBL or to Bangladesh Coast Guard Ship, in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indian Coast Guard and Bangladesh Coast Guard.

In the Meantime Indian Coast Guard Regional Headquarters at Kolkata established communication with Bangladesh Coast Guard and informed them about the incident and plan of action.

Bangladesh Coast Guard Ship (BCGS) Kamaruzzaman was deployed by BCG for towing of BFB. BCG Ship Kamaruzzaman arrived near the IMBL at about  6.45 pm and ICGS Amogh handed over the 27 Bangladeshi fishermen alongwith their boat to BCG ship Kamaruzzaman.