Navy, coast guard rescue 24 people in Maharashtra

As many as 24 people including eight fishermen were on Wednesday rescued by the navy and coast guard from the rough Arabian Sea in Maharashtra.

Eight fishermen, including a minor, who ventured into the choppy sea ignoring the warnings of a cyclone, were rescued off the Ratnagiri coast in Konkan region with the help of the navy's Chetak helicopter, said Captain M Nambiar, spokesman for ministry of defence.

Sixteen crew members of two vessels were rescued by the coast guard from Bombay High, an off-shore oilfield 160 km off the Mumbai coast, he said.

The navy has deployed its personnel equipped with boats and lifeguards in Mankhurd, Malad, Worli, Ghatkopar and Colaba areas in the city to carry out rescue operations in case of floods, he said.

The coast guard has also earmarked an aircraft and two vessels for search and rescue operations and for preventing fishermen from venturing into sea, he added.