Commander Abhilash Tomy, who was injured and later rescued in a multi-nation effort last month in the Indian Ocean and was under medical observation at Ile Amsterdam, was brought to Visakhapatnam safely onboard Indian Navy ship Satpura on Saturday. He is now in navy hospital there for observation and medical assistance as required.
Incidentally, Captain Alok Ananda, the commanding officer of Satpura, lost his father while the ship was on operational deployment and diverted for the search and rescue operation to evacuate Tomy.
He was participating in the Golden Globe Race 2018(GGR) representing India in the historic around the world race without modern navigation aids. On September 21, his sailing vessel 'Thuriya' was dismasted when the boat was caught in a violent storm in the South Indian Ocean, approximately 1,900 nautical miles West of Perth, Australia. He suffered a severe back injury and dropped out of the race.
The Australian Rescue Coordination Centre at Canberra coordinated the rescue mission in conjunction with many agencies including the Australian Defence Department and the Indian Navy.
Indian Navy launched 'Operation Raksham' to rescue the injured officer by immediately deploying the Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft P-8I in the area staging through Mauritius for providing close support and monitoring the rescue operations besides diverting its ships Satpura and Jyoti to undertake Search and Rescue Operations, navy officials said here.
On September 24, French Fishing Vessel (FV) Osiris reached in vicinity of 'Thuriya' and carried out a successful rescue operation and later shifted Tomy to Ile Amsterdam for shelter. Satpura arrived off the Ile Amsterdam and evacuated Tomy using the ship's helicopter on September 28.
He was thereafter provided the requisite medical treatment onboard during the passage to Visakhapatnam.