CG rescues 14 fishermen off Pamban coast

CHENNAI: As many as 14 fishermen were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard off Pamban coast after they received distress signals, officials said here on Saturday. Acting on the information received from the local Marine Police Station in Pamban late last night, officials at the Coast Guard Station in Mandapam sailed its interceptor boat to rescue the 14 fishermen on board a fishing vessel, a Coast Guard release said.The interceptor boat later towed the damaged vessel to Mandapam harbour.The ISRO-developed Satellite-based Distress Alert Transmitters (DAT), used by the fishermen to send distress signals, are now being distributed free of cost to the fishing community by Coast Guard along with the Tamil Nadu government.A total of 149 DATs were distributed to fishermen of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, the release said.