Solo sailor stranded in Indian Ocean lugging ‘cans of ice tea’ may have spinal injury, rescuers fear
Related Story: 'CANT WALK. MIGHT NEED STRETCHER': Rescue mission underway for solo sailor off WA coast
Help is expected to reach an injured Indian sailor stranded in remote waters far off the West Australian coast later today, according to rescuers.
Key points:
- Abhilash Tomy is feared to have suffered a spinal injury when he hit bad weather
- He is set to be taken to an island midway between Madagascar and Australia
- The rescue operation will take a number of days, maritime authorities say
Solo skipper Abhilash Tomy, an officer in the Indian Navy, was taking part in the around-the-world Golden Globe Race when his 10-metre vessel Thuriya struck trouble in the south-west Indian Ocean on Friday.
The mast on Tomy's yacht broke when it rolled during a storm and he is understood to have suffered a serious back injury, leaving him confined to his bunk about 1,900 nautical miles (3,500 kilometres) west of Perth.
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 2:00pm West Australian time," he said.
External Link: Indian Defence tweet about Abhilash Tomy
Mr 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 organisers said Tomy had sent another satellite text message on Sunday.
"LUGGED CANS OF ICE TEA. HAVING THAT. VOMITTING CONTINUINGLY. CHEST BURNING," he said.
He had messaged a day earlier, saying: "ACTIVATED EPIRB. CANT WALK. MIGHT NEED STRETCHER."
A subsequent message read: "CAN MOVE TOES. FEEL NUMB. CAN'T EAT OR DRINK. TOUGH 2 REACH GRAB BAG".
Rescue operation will take several days
AMSA is coordinating the multi-national search and rescue mission, which also involves aircraft and vessels from the Australian Defence Force and the Indian Armed Forces.
Mr Lloyd said there were concerns Tomy had suffered a spinal injury and that his activity on board his vessel had been minimal, but said that would be assessed when the Osiris arrived.
"We then have to undertake a medical assessment of Tomy … depending upon that medical assessment, we will either remove him from the yacht or tow the yacht, most likely to Île Amsterdam which is about 180 kilometres away," he said.
"Then we can get further medical assistance from a doctor who is at the research station there."
Île Amsterdam, also known as Amsterdam Island, is a small French territory in the southern Indian Ocean, midway between Madagascar and Australia.
Mr Lloyd said the plans meant the rescue operation would take a number of days, with the Royal Australian Navy frigate, HMAS Ballarat, on its way to the area but not expected to arrive until Wednesday.
Tomy became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe when he achieved the feat in 2013, his website says.
He was in third place in the Golden Globe Race when the storm hit.
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