Indian Navy on Friday safely rescued all 21 crew members, including 15 Indian, onboard the hijacked vessel MV Lili Norfolk off Somalia coast.
The jubilant members of the crew expressed gratitude towards the Indian Navy and chanted “Bharat Mata ki Jai” upon being evacuated. One of the Indians who was rescued by the Indian Navy said, “We were stuck for 24 hours. We got relief after the Indian Navy came to rescue them.” Another man said, “Proud of the Indian Navy.”
The Navy rushed its warship INS Chennai and deployed maritime operations after a distress signal from the cargo ship signaled the hijacking on Thursday.
The Navy’s elite Marine Commandos (Marcos), conducted sanitisation operations on the vessel and confirmed the absence of hijackers, said the Navy. All 21 crew, including Indians are safe, it added. Naval warship INS Chennai, a navy destroyer, that was diverted from its anti-piracy patrol, launched its helicopter and issued warning to pirates to abandon the hijacked vessel.
The hijacking was reported by the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a British military organisation that tracks movements of various vessels in strategic waterways. Merchant vessel MV Lila Norfolk was hijacked by pirates 300 nautical miles east of Somalia, while it was sailing from Port Du Aco in Brazil and was bound for Khalifa Bin Salman in Bahrain.
