Drama at sea claims life of Mangalore Port Trust employee

Drama at sea claims life of Mangalore Port Trust employee
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

MANGALORE, JUNE 8: An employee of the New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT) was killed on Wednesday when the engines of the Trust's port tug, sent to rescue a cargo vessel, failed forcing its crew to jump into the water.

The NMPT, in a joint operation with the Coast Guards and police, was still trying to salvage the cargo vessel, carrying about 65,000 metric tonnes of iron ore, NMPT sources said.

The deceased was K P Issuey (57), the driver of the rescue tug. He succumbed to shock after swimming ashore when the port tug went adrift. M V Eastern Queen, carrying 64,238 mt of iron ore, had left the New Mangalore port at 10.25 am on Wednesday for Japan via Singapore. The drama began after the pilot (an employee of the NMPT) of the vessel slowed down its speed and disembarked. The vessel, due to loss of speed and the sudden rain, drifted off the channel and ran aground north of the channel at 11.47 am, about two km from the shore.

On receiving the distress signal, port tug Varahi was pressed into service on a rescue operation. The tug, carrying deputy conservator Capt S Kumar, harbour master and pilots attempted a refloatation operation, which had to be abandoned due to bad weather conditions.

During the second rescue-attempt, the rope connecting Varahi and the vessel snapped and the twin engines of Varahi failed simultaneously. The tug drifted towards north of Panambur and was left stranded about 100 m away from the shore.

As the tug began drifting, the crew members, numbering around 14, jumped into the water with their life jackets, swimming ashore with the help of local fishermen. However, the driver of Varahi K P Issuey, who also reached ashore, was found in a serious state of shock. He was rushed to the hospital where he was declared dead by doctors.

Further refloatation operations for the vessel and the port tug have been suspended due to inclement weather.