Seychelles’ swift, life-saving assistance helps 17 Indian fishermen stranded in high seas

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) As many as 17 Indian fishermen aboard fishing boat ‘IFB Sajira’, which suffered an engine failure in the high seas off the coast of Seychelles, were helped to safety by the island nation’s authorities, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.

“Government of India expresses gratitude to the Government of Seychelles for its swift and life-saving assistance to 17 Indian fishermen aboard IFB Sajira, which suffered an engine failure in the high seas off the coast of Seychelles,” the MEA stated on X.

In August, India handed over specialised calibrated tools and repaired electronic units to Seychelles, strengthening defence and maritime cooperation.

“Strengthening India-Seychelles Defence and Maritime Security Cooperation. 3 repaired Dornier Main Electronic Units (MEUs), 18 sets of calibrated specialised aircraft tools, 50 safety helmets and seamanship ropes were handed over by Defence Adviser Capt. Shravan Sareen to Maj. Gen. Michael Rosette, CDF, SDF,” the High Commission of India in Victoria stated on X.

According to the Indian mission, the items were repaired/calibrated at Indian Naval facilities free of cost and will enable in-house testing and faster repairs for the Dornier fleet that is used by the Seychelles Air Force for Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance, CASEVAC (Casualty Evacuation), and SAR (Search and Rescue).

“The safety and seamanship gear will elevate personnel safety and op readiness of the Seychelles Coast Guard,” the High Commission highlighted.

Days earlier, India’s High Commissioner to Seychelles, Rohit Rathish, handed over five laser radial boats to the Seychelles Defence Force chief, fulfilling Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement during his state visit to the archipelagic island nation in the Indian Ocean in June.

“Strengthening Maritime Partnership India-Seychelles. Following the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his State Visit to Seychelles, five laser radial boats were handed over today by the High Commissioner of India to the Chief of Defence Forces, Seychelles Defence Force. The boats will help build seamanship skills of SDF personnel,” the High Commissioner of India to Seychelles wrote on X.

PM Modi paid a three-day state visit to Seychelles in June at the invitation of President Patrick Herminie, during which he handed over the ‘Made in India’ Fast Patrol Vessel PS Lespwar to the Seychelles Coast Guard.

–IANS

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SpaceX brings back 4 NASA astronauts to Earth in first-ever medical evacuation from ISS

New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) Elon Musk-led SpaceX on Thursday successfully brought back four NASA astronauts to Earth in the first-ever medical evacuation from the International Space Station (ISS).

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov returned to Earth at 12:41 a.m. PST (2:11 pm IST) aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule.

“Welcome home, Crew-11! At 3:41 am ET (0841 UTC), the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft splashed down off the coast of San Diego, California,” NASA said in a post on social media platform X.

“Dragon and NASA’s Crew-11 return to Earth, splashing down off the coast of California,” added SpaceX.

The astronauts concluded a more than five-month mission aboard the ISS, and their early departure leaves just three — NASA’s Chris Williams, cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev — on the space station. Another crew of four should arrive next month.

“All four crew members will be transported to a local hospital for additional evaluation, taking advantage of medical resources on Earth to provide the best care possible,” NASA said on X.

On January 8, the US space agency postponed its first scheduled spacewalk of 2026 with Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman — over ‘medical concern’ with an astronaut.

The space agency, however, has not provided details about the medical issue or the name of the astronaut involved.

“Due to medical privacy, it is not appropriate for NASA to share more details about the crew member. The situation is stable,” NASA had shared in a blogpost.

Meanwhile, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman noted that Crew-11’s return reflects the strength and capability of the US space programme in safely bringing astronauts back. He also praised the Crew-11 teams for their achievements.

“Crew-11 completed more than 140 science experiments that advance human exploration. Missions like Crew-11 demonstrate the capability inherent in America’s space programme — our ability to bring astronauts home as needed, launch new crews quickly, and continue pushing forward on human spaceflight as we prepare for our historic Artemis II mission, from low Earth orbit to the Moon and ultimately Mars,” Isaacman said.

During their 167-day mission, the four crew members traveled nearly 71 million miles and completed more than 2,670 orbits around Earth.

The Crew-11 mission was Fincke’s fourth spaceflight, Yui’s second, and the first for Cardman and Platonov. Fincke has logged 549 days in space, ranking him fourth among all NASA astronauts for cumulative days in space.

–IANS

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Chhattisgarh: Dy CM visits injured train crash victims in hospitals

Bilaspur/Raipur Nov 5 (IANS) In the aftermath of the tragic train accident near Lal Khand in Bilaspur, Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Arun Sao visited multiple hospitals across the city on Wednesday to meet with the injured and assess their recovery.

The accident, which occurred on November 4, claimed eleven lives and left twenty others injured, some critically. The Deputy Chief Minister’s visit was a gesture of solidarity and reassurance to the victims and their families, many of whom are still reeling from the shock.

Sao visited various hospitals, where the injured are currently receiving treatment. He interacted personally with the patients, offering words of comfort and wishing them a swift recovery.

He also held discussions with attending doctors and hospital administrators, instructing them to ensure that the best possible medical care is provided without delay or compromise.

Accompanying the Deputy Chief Minister were key district officials, including Bilaspur Mayor Pooja Vidhani, Collector Sanjay Agarwal, Superintendent of Police Rajnesh Singh, Municipal Corporation Commissioner Amit Kumar, and District Panchayat CEO Sandeep Agarwal.

Their presence underscored the administration’s collective commitment to supporting the victims and managing the crisis with urgency and compassion.

The train accident, which involved a collision between the Gevra Road–Bilaspur MEMU local and a stationary goods train, has been described as one of the deadliest rail tragedies in the region this year.

The impact was so severe that the lead coach of the MEMU train was crushed atop the brake van of the goods train, resulting in multiple fatalities and injuries.

Rescue operations continued through Tuesday night, with emergency teams working tirelessly to extricate passengers from the wreckage.

Speaking to the media, Sao expressed deep sorrow over the loss of lives and reiterated the government’s resolve to provide all necessary assistance to the victims and their families.

He assured that compensation and rehabilitation measures would be expedited and that accountability for the accident would be pursued through official channels.

–IANS

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Kerala: Husband and mother-in-law sentenced to life for ‘starving’ Tushara to death

Kollam, April 28 (IANS) A court in Kerala’s Kollam on Monday sentenced husband Chandulal and his mother Geethalal to life imprisonment in the bizarre 2019 dowry death case of Tushara, who was literally starved to death by them.

The mother of Tushara welcomed the verdict, saying that her daughter suffered a lot.

“The dowry harassment started three months after the wedding took place. My daughter suffered a lot there, and despite that, she continued to remain there. Every time she called us, she used to tell us to bring the money, and she did not want us to visit her,” she said.

The case began when Tushara was brought dead to a hospital near here in March 2019.

Her family were aghast to see the condition of her body as it weighed just 21 kg, and it was only hair and skin.

Later, it surfaced that Tushara was constantly tortured and she was not given any food or water for days together as she was locked up in a room by her husband and his mother.

She was harassed as they were demanding more dowry, and this torture continued for a long time, and she was not allowed to even spend time with her two little daughters.

Tushara’s parents were also kept at bay by Chandulal and his mother.

The prosecution on Monday said that this was a one-of-a-kind case in our country.

“When the post-mortem report came, it pointed out that there were no food particles in her stomach and her urinary bladder was also totally empty,” said the prosecution counsel and added that he is yet to come across any case where a person was starved to death.

“When her girl was admitted to the school, the name of the mother was written as Geethalal. The teacher of the girl child came to know that the mother’s name was Tushara only after the news report came after the ‘death’ of Tushara,” the counsel added.

The investigating officer said the probe went well as all the witnesses in the case cooperated with it.

–IANS

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