Indian Navy’s stealth frigate INS Trikand altered its course to reach a fishing vessel in the Central Arabian Sea and provided urgent medical assistance to a critically injured Pakistani crew member onboard it, off the coast of Oman, officials said on Sunday. INS Trikand on Friday morning intercepted a distress call from an Iranian dhow Al Omeedi, a Navy spokesperson said.

Upon further investigation, it was found that a crew member of the dhow had sustained “severe injuries to his fingers while working on the engine” and was in critical condition, and that he had been transferred to another dhow named FV Abdul Rehman Hanzia, which was en route to Iran, the officials said.

The person had suffered severe injuries involving multiple fractures and blood loss, they said. “Trikand immediately altered her course to provide medical assistance to the injured crew member,” the spokesperson said. “The crew of FV Abdul Rehman Hanzia consisted 11 Pakistani — nine Baloch and two Sindhi — and five Iranian personnel. “The injured individual, a Pakistani (Baloch) national, had suffered multiple fractures and severe hand injuries, resulting in heavy blood loss,” he said.

The frigate, operating in the Central Arabian Sea, provided the urgent critical medical assistance to the Pakistani crew of the fishing vessel operating approximately 350 nautical miles east of the Oman coast, the Indian Navy official said.

The medical officer of INS Trikand, along with a team comprising MARCOS (Marine Commandos) and the ship’s boarding team, boarded the FV (fishing vessel) to administer aid. After providing local anaesthesia, the ship’s medical team performed suturing and splinting on the injured fingers, the officials said. The surgical procedure which lasted for over three hours, was successfully completed, bleeding was controlled in time.