Injured Navy officer’s 'dismasted' yacht located, who is Abhilash Tomy and how the incident happened?

The vessel of Indian Naval officer Abhilash Tomy, who had suffered a back-injury on Friday after his yacht was hit by a storm with 14-metre-high waves mid-way while participating in the Golden Globe Race across south Indian Ocean, was located by an Indian Navy aircraft, a Defence spokesman said on Sunday.

Tomy on Sunday managed to contact race organisers in France through messages and had requested for a stretcher as he could not move on his own. He was representing India in the Golden Globe Race 2018 (GGR) on an indigenously-built sailing vessel 'S V Thuraya'. 

The Navy's P8I aircraft, which flew from Mauritius in the early hours Sunday, has located the "mast broken boat rolling excessively", the spokesman said.

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"Commander Tomy responded by ping on EPIRB as the aircraft was flying over him," he said.

Who is Abhilash Tomy and how the incident happened?

Tomy became the first Indian to have circumnavigated the globe in 2013.

He is the only Indian participating in the race that involves a gruelling 30,000-mile solo circumnavigation of the globe.

His vessel is in the south Indian Ocean, about 1,900 nautical miles from Perth in Australia.

Tomy's vessel was dismasted in extremely rough weather and sea conditions, with wind speeds of 130 kmh.

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He was in third position in the race and has sailed over 10,500 nautical miles in the last 84 days, since the race started on July 1.

A report from France on Friday night had said 70 knot winds and 14-metre-high waves have left the yachts of Tomy and Ireland's Gregor McGuckin dismasted, and twice knocked down the yacht of second-placed Dutchman Mark Slats.

Both McGuckin and Slats had reported that they are okay, but 39-year-old Tomy, making his second solo circumnavigation, has been injured, it had said.

The nearest yacht was McGuckin's 'Biscay 36 Hanley Energy Endurance', some 90 miles to the southwest of Tomy's 'Thuriya', but she too was dismasted in the same storm.  

(With PTI inputs)