In the morning hours of Wednesday, January 15 Indian Coast Guard rescued 54 persons (22 women, 20 children, 9 men, 3 infants) from a passenger vessel that was stranded mid-sea due to an engine failure, in the Lakshadweep archipelago, off India's West Coast. 

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The said passenger vessel had departed Kavaratti at 12:15AM on Tuesday, 14th January,  for Suhelipar Island and was expected to reach by 9AM. With the boat not having arrived well after the expected time of arrival, the Lakshadweep Administration sent a distress alert to the Indian Coast Guard Headquarters No. 12 (Lakshadweep), Kavaratti, on Tuesday afternoon. 

Upon receiving this information, the Indian Coast Guard launched a Search and Rescue (SAR) mission for the overdue vessel through the Remote Operating Station (ROS) at Kavaratti and located it. It was ascertained that the vessel had suffered engine failure and was stranded mid-sea. Communication was successfully established with the stranded boat and the details were relayed to Indian Coast Guard ship, which was diverted to the boat's position at maximum speed to assess the situation and provide assistance. 

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At approximately 4:30PM on Tuesday, ICG ship reached the adrift boat, located about four nautical miles off Suhelipar Island. The ship's boarding team assessed the situation and safely embarked all 54 passengers onboard for further transfer to Kavaratti Island. The passengers were reassured and were provided with emergency care. At around 9AM on 15thJanuary 2025, the passengers were safely handed over to the Lakshadweep Administration authorities at Kavaratti Island.  

The ICG District Headquarters at Kavaratti emphasized to Lakshadweep Administration that Search and Rescue (SAR) operations at sea can be significantly more effective if boats adhere to safety protocols, primarily refraining from overloading beyond rated capacity and carriage of life saving equipment.