Indian sailor is rescued from the middle of the Indian Ocean

An Indian sailor has been rescued from the middle of the Indian Ocean after he was seriously injured and his yacht lost its masts in 45ft waves during a round-the-world solo race.

Abhilash Tomy raised the alarm on Saturday after his yacht was badly damaged in a storm about 2,175 miles west of Australia, leaving him with severe back injuries.

Race organisers said the 39-year-old had been found on board today and that he was ‘conscious and talking’ after a French ship reached his storm-damaged vessel. 

An Irish rival who went to his aid while competing in the Golden Globe Race is also in the process of being evacuated in the Indian Ocean. The same French fishing vessel is now heading to collect 32-year-old Gregor McGuckin, from Dublin, his spokesman said.

Indian sailor Abhilash Tomy has been rescued from the middle of the Indian Ocean after he was seriously injured and his yacht lost its masts in 45ft waves during a round-the-world solo race. His damaged vessel is pictured today

Abhilash Tomy (pictured), called for emergency assistance on Saturday after the yacht was badly damaged in a storm about 2,175 miles west of Australia, leaving him with severe back injuries

Abhilash Tomy (pictured), called for emergency assistance on Saturday after the yacht was badly damaged in a storm about 2,175 miles west of Australia, leaving him with severe back injuries

Race organisers said the 39-year-old had been found onboard and that he was 'conscious and talking' after a French ship reached his storm-damaged vessel

Race organisers said the 39-year-old had been found onboard and that he was ‘conscious and talking’ after a French ship reached his storm-damaged vessel

‘The ship is now en route to Gregor for a controlled evacuation, not a rescue,’ he said. 

The Golden Globe Race posted on its Facebook page this morning: ‘Report just in… they have him… Bravo. They have Tomy onboard and he is conscious and talking, fantastic news… well done all involved, incredible news.’ 

‘The French fisheries patrol vessel Osiris reached Tomy’s yacht at 0530 UTC today and Australian and Indian long-range P8 Orion reconnaissance aircraft are circling overhead.

‘Fellow GGR skipper Gregor McGuckin, whose yacht Hanley Energy Endurance was also dismasted in the same storm last week, is making 2.2 knots towards Thuriya’s position, sailing under jury rig. The 32-year-old Irishman is still 25 miles to the West and in radio contact with the reconnaissance aircraft. He is not in distress but has asked for a controlled evacuation from his yacht.

‘Faced with a 1,900 mile sail across the Southern Ocean to Western Australia under a small jury rig and without an engine (his fuel was contaminated when the yacht capsized), this is a responsible decision taken by a professional sailor when all the rescue assets are close by. 

Tomy, whose website says he became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe in 2013, was a contestant in the gruelling 30,000-mile Golden Globe Race 

The Indian-built yacht, 'Thuriya', left the seaside town of Les Sables-d'Olonne in western France on July 1 in the roundtrip race

The Indian-built yacht, ‘Thuriya’, left the seaside town of Les Sables-d’Olonne in western France on July 1 in the roundtrip race

‘The alternative would have been to continue sailing singlehanded without the aid of self-steering (also smashed in the capsize) and risk having to call on the Rescue Services again should he be disabled further in another storm.

‘Once the two solo yachtsmen are safely aboard the Osiris the French fisheries patrol ship will proceed to Amsterdam Island where the rescued sailors will be given a full medical examination. The hospital on Amsterdam Island is well equipped with X-ray and ultrasound equipment.’ 

Earlier, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the rescue, had said it expected a French fisheries patrol vessel to reach 39-year-old Tomy’s yacht as soon as 0700 GMT.

‘All indications are the vessel is upright and floating high in the water but at any moment, a wave could push one of the damaged masts into the vessel and compromise its integrity,’ Phil Gaden, a search and rescue official, told reporters in Canberra, the Australian capital.

The mast hanging precariously over the yacht stoked fears it could become dislodged and damage the watertight body of the boat, Gaden added.

Competitors set sail from Les Sables-d'Olonne, France. Mr Tomy had become stranded some 3,000 km southwest of Perth 

Competitors set sail from Les Sables-d’Olonne, France. Mr Tomy had become stranded some 3,000 km southwest of Perth 

Despite the nearness of the French ship, Gaden had cautioned that rescuers might not be able to evacuate Tomy because of the damage to his yacht, in which case an Australian naval boat, positioned further away, might have had to undertake the rescue.

Tomy, whose website says he became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe in 2013, was a contestant in the gruelling 30,000-mile Golden Globe Race.

The Indian-built yacht, ‘Thuriya’, left the seaside town of Les Sables-d’Olonne in western France on July 1 in the roundtrip race. 

Participant crafts, similar to those used 50 years ago in the first such race, which features a solo circumnavigation of the globe, are barred from using modern technology, except for their communications gear.

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