Coast Guard conducts medical evacuation of Indian crew onboard Liberia-flagged merchant vessel Lila Lisbon

The evacuation was carried out by the Indian Coast Guard on Sunday at 7.50 pm (IST). The Indian Coast Guard ship subsequently handed the patient over to the shipping agent at Paradip for further medical assistance.

A post on the official X handle of the Indian Coast Guard read, "@IndiaCoastGuard Ship C-425 conducted MEDEVAC of a 59 yrs old Indian crew suffering from chest pain onboard #Liberia flagged Merchant Vessel Lila Lisbon off #Paradip at 1950 hrs on 16 Mar 24. (1/2) @giridhararmane."

"ICG Ship subsequently handed over the patient to shipping agent at Paradip for further medical management," it added.

Earlier, on Saturday, Indian warship INS Kolkata successfully cornered and coerced all 35 pirates to surrender, ensuring the safe evacuation of 17 crew members from a merchant vessel without any injury, the Indian Navy said in an official statement.

In the rescue operation, which lasted 40 hours, INS Kolkata intercepted the under-attack pirate ship, Ruen, sailing almost 2600 km from the Indian coastline, and forced the pirate ship to stop through calibrated actions.

The operation to safely rescue the crew members and take full control of the distressed vessel was supported by the Indian warship INS Subhadra, High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE RPA) drones, P8I maritime patrol aircraft, and MARCOS PRAHARs airdropped by C-17 aircraft.

Later, the vessel was also sanitised for the presence of illegal arms, ammunition, and contraband.

The ex-MV Ruen, which had been commandeered by Somali pirates on December 14, 2023, reappeared as a pirate vessel, threatening merchant shipping in the high seas. Responding swiftly to the threat, an Indian Navy warship engaged the pirate vessel on March 15, the Navy added in its statement.

The pirates aboard the vessel were called upon by the Indian Navy to surrender immediately and release any civilians they may be held against their will, the statement adde. (ANI)