Vishakhapatnam, October 6: Commander Abhilash Tomy was brought to Visakhapatnam safely onboard INS Satpura on Saturday.  The Indian Navy officer was severely injured after his boat, SV Thuriya was badly damaged in a storm on September 21 during the Golden Globe Race (GGR) while representing India. Commander Tomy was under medical observation at Ile Amsterdam after the tragic incident where he was 3,200km off the coast of Western Australia.

According to reports, the naval officer has now been shifted to INHS Kalyani, the naval hospital of ENC for observation and medical assistance. The naval officer had lost contact after a massive storm, with winds measuring upto 150 km/hr and 14-metre-high waves, had struck his vessel. In the storm, the boat’s wind generator was destroyed. His boat was struck by the second storm which was even worse. While cleaning the mess on his boat the naval officer realised that his back was damaged. He could be hardly able to move.

Here is the video of Commander Tomy returning to Vishakhapatnam:

The Commander then sent a message to the GGR organisers detailing his condition after which he got a call that night to activate the EPIRB (emergency position indicating radio beacon). French patrol vessel Osiris rescued Commander Tomy on September 24. The Indian and the Australian militaries also supported the rescue mission.

The GGR is a circumnavigation race involving solo participants without using the modern technology. A total of 11 participants took part in the race using 1968 vintage boats and technology to circumnavigate solo and non-stop. The race is being held to celebrate the golden anniversary of first such solo circumnavigation in 1968.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 06, 2018 08:42 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).