Round-the-world sailor rescued after injury traps him in bunk. Abhilash Tomy was hurt when his vessel was damaged 2,200 miles from land.

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Abhilash Tomy was trapped on his bunk after being injured during a storm on Friday. Photograph: Nick Jaffe/PPL/GGR

▼ An Indian sailor who suffered a severe back injury during a solo race around the world has been rescued by a French ship far off the west coast of Australia.
After being injured during a storm, Abhilash Tomy drifted in his mastless yacht about 1,900 miles (3,000km) from Perth for four days while maritime authorities raced to reach him, fearful that any moment a strong wave could sink or capsize his vessel.
Tomy was helpless, telling race organisers by satellite phone on Saturday he had lost the use of his legs and was confined to his bunk and unable to reach for food or water.
Ships scrambled to reach the sailor, who was stranded equidistant from Madagascar, Perth and Antartica and, said organisers, “as far from help as you can possibly be”.
On Monday evening a French fisheries vessel was the first to succeed in reachingTomy, while Australian and Indian long-range P-8 Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft circled overhead. “Tomy rescued safely,” the Indian navy posted on Twitter.
The Indian defence minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, said Tomywas “conscious and doing OK”. Race organisers had been keeping him informed on the progress of the rescue. They said Tomy had stopped replying on Monday morning, suggesting he was “now too weak to transmit”.
The decorated Indian navy commander was participating in the race to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Golden Globe yacht race, in which Robin Knox-Johnston became the first man to sail nonstop around the world.
Seventeen vessels had commenced the 2018 Golden Globe race from Les Sables-d’Olonne in France on 1 July. They were expected to be at sea for at least 200 days, but nearly half had dropped out by 11 September. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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harpreetsembhi

Sailing is my long-time dream hopefully I can do it one day