A Bangladeshi fishing boat, ‘Rana', and its 19 crew members were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard near Paradip on Tuesday.
The boat had left Coxbazar (Bangladesh) on November 15 for fishing and remained adrift for long. The boat drifted into Indian EEZ due to breakdown in machinery. The crew was found exhausted with no ration onboard and was provided with first aid, food and water by the Coast Guard
ship. The Bangladesh Coast Guard has been requested under the ambit of existing MoU with the Indian Coast Guard to make necessary arrangements for taking over of the stranded fishing boat along with the crew at the pre designated location in vicinity of International Maritime Boundary Line.
The stranded boat is being towed by the Coast Guard ship for further handing over to Bangladesh authorities.