NRI sailor saved from drowning after wife’s rescue call

But within hours of setting off, their 44ft motorboat Umbalika capsized in rough seas and sank, before the experienced sailors could send an SOS.

The duo were rescued only after Patel’s wife Louise raised an alarm from their home in Barnet, north London, as she had not heard from him all these days.

Louise dialed the toll-free helpline number 999 on Nov 13 when her husband failed to call after a 22-hour trip. She was put through the Thames Coastguard, from where staff alerted the International Coastguard Liaison Station at Falmouth, Cornwall, and a message was flashed to Spanish coast-guards.

A search operation involving rescue boats and helicopters was launched, which spotted them 7 km away from the island of Sa Dragonera, off the west coast of Majorca.

After rescue, Patel said “It was a terrifying experience. We were hit by a giant wave and sank in two minutes. We didn’t even have time to put in a rescue call over the radio.”

Patel’s wife Louise said, “it was a huge relief to have him back. The children and me had decided that we would give him the biggest hug and kiss ever on his coming,” she said.

Miguel Chicon, Director of the Maritime Rescue Centre in Palma said: “The last contact anyone had with them was on the Wednesday night when they spoke to their relatives to say they had hit high seas and the boat was rolling and pitching. That was the last anyone heard of them.”