The US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in West Asia, on Sunday said a US Navy search-and-rescue team assisted in rescuing 14 Indian mariners in the Northern Arabian Sea.
Referring to the operation involving the vessel MSC Virat 1, CENTCOM said that after receiving a distress call from the stranded mariners, a US Navy P-8 aircraft was the first to reach the scene. The aircraft dropped a search-and-rescue kit, including a life raft, which was used by the 14 mariners.
The motor vessel Jabal Ali 9 subsequently arrived at the location and successfully recovered 11 crew members from the raft.
An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, rescued three additional mariners after their life raft capsized in rough seas. The rescued mariners were transported to Jabal Ali 9 and were reported to be in good health.
The US Fifth Fleet, headquartered in Bahrain and operating under CENTCOM, oversees nearly 2.5 million square miles of water. Its area of responsibility includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean, and key maritime choke points such as the Strait of Hormuz, the Suez Canal and Bab el-Mandeb.
