Keeping a watchful eye on devotees

Luckily for them, even before a Gemini speed boat stationed off the Juhu beach swung into action, a Coast Guard helicopter commandered by Lt Comm N Dhir and Asst Comd Pradeep Sharma had taken off from the Naval Helicopter Base at Colaba and were soon hovering over the Juhu Beach pinpointing the position of the drowning persons.

In this joint sea and air operation, as the Gemini skimmed the waves to reach the drowning duo, the Coast Guard helicopter coordinated the operation from above, providing information to the stand-by vessel Charlie 134 commandered by Assistant Commandant MohinderSingh.

Guided by the aerial information, the divers aboard the boat swam to the spot across the strong currents in minutes and dragged the two men to safety. They were lifted onboard the Gemini and taken ashore before being handed over to the Civil Defence officials stationed along the Juhu Beach.The authorities had stationed two Gemini speedboats, one at Juhu and the other off the Chowpatty sands in South Bombay with four-member crew of Coast Guard divers each to prevent such mishaps. The helicopters flew five sorties throughout the day logging three hours across the seas keeping a gimlet eye on the immersions.

The rescued men were members of a Ganpati immersion procession and were busy lowering the idol when they got caught in the waves. They have been identified as Prem Kumar Patil (24) and Ramesh Premji Patil (23), both residents of Ghatkopar. The duo were later admitted to Cooper Hospital where their condition is stated to be stable. Coast Guard Deputy Commandant Donny Michael told The IndianExpress that their two patrol boats assisted by divers on Geminis were positioned at Juhu and Girgaum Chowpatty. The Air Wing carried out 12 aerial sorties in two days to keep a watch on the revellers, Michael added.

Meanwhile, the police said more than 470 big Ganapati idols and 10,400 small idols were consigned to the sea at various points across Mumbai’s shoreline.