‘Don’t worry Abhilash; we are on the way to rescue you’: says Indian, Australian and French Navy
New Delhi, September 24: Golden Globe Race Commander Abhilash Tomy, who was traced by an Indian Navy Reconnaissance aircraft, will be rescued by French vessel Osiris today, the Indian Navy announced on Sunday. Tomy will then be picked up by Australian Naval ship HMAS Ballarat, which has already left Perth to rescue him. INS Satpura will arrive at Tomy’s current location by September 28, the Navy added.
Indian Navy has launched Long Range Maritime Reconnaissance aircraft P8i to locate Tomy which captured the pictures in which it was understood that the mast on Tomy's yacht broke when it rolled during a storm. He has been suffered a serious back injury, leaving him confined to his bunk about 1,900 nautical miles (3,500 kilometers) west of Perth.
According to Indian Navy Spokesperson’s tweet, Indian Navy P-8I to arrive on the scene to coordinate final stretch. French ship Osiris plans to launch 2 Zodiac boats to reach Abhilash Tomy to administer first aid and give him water before evacuation.
Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) search and rescue operations manager Alan Lloyd said there was still only limited information available about Tomy's condition, but help was getting closer.
"The French research vessel Osiris will arrive in the location of Tomy's vessel at approximately mid-afternoon Canberra time, probably about 2:00 pm West Australian time," he said.
Lloyd said the area could be "treacherous" during poor weather conditions and was known to cause damage to vessels similar to that suffered by Tomy's yacht.
"This [French] vessel is actually purpose-built for working in the Southern Ocean and the conditions that you experience there," he said.
"The crew themselves know the territory very well and in fact, we've used the same vessel on other occasions, when we've had to provide assistance to yachtsman in distress in these areas."
Race organizers said Tomy had sent another satellite text message on Sunday.