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July 6, 2010

The Virginian-Pilot
© July 6, 2010

The Norfolk-based frigate Elrod rescued 16 Pakistani fishermen Monday after their skiff sank off the Horn of Africa, the Navy's Fifth Fleet announced.

A P-3C Orion aircraft from patrol squadron VP-16 in Djibouti spotted a life raft near debris in the eastern Gulf of Aden around noon during a routine counter-piracy patrol, according to a news release.

An SH-60B Sea Hawk helicopter from the Elrod rescued 12 men by air, and when the frigate neared the life raft, a rigid-hull inflatable boat picked up the remaining four men.

Interpreters confirmed that all crew members had been rescued. They were found to be in good health.

The men's fishing skiff, the Al An Wari, sank in the Gulf of Aden because of cracks in the hull. The skiff had pulled into port in Yemen on June 29 for repairs, returned to sea on July 1 and sank on July 2. The crew drifted for more than two days before the frigate rescued them.

The men were sent to to the Pakistani Navy destroyer Babur on Tuesday to be taken home. The Babur is in the region conducting counterpiracy operations as part of a multinational task force.