The Indian Navy on Wednesday tweeted the first images of Commander Abhilash Tomy, the sailor who survived gruelling days with an injured back in his de-masted yacht in the South Indian Ocean during the Golden Globe round-the-world race.

In the pictures, a smiling Cdr Tomy is seen lying on a hospital bed with medical apparatus attached to his body.

In his first statement since his rescue, Cdr Tomy said that it was a combination of his sailing skill, the soldier spirit and the naval training that helped him survive the life-threatening ordeal.

“The sea was unbelievably rough. Me and my boat Thuriya were pitched against the nature’s might. I survived because of my sailing skills, the soldier bit in me and my Naval training cut-in for that fight,” said the Commander from the hospital bed where he is recuperating from injuries suffered in the accident.

The sea was unbelievably rough. Me & my boat Thuriya were pitched against the nature’s might. I survived because of my sailing skills, the soldier bit in me and my Naval training cut-in for that fight – Cdr Abhilash Tomy. Very thankful to #IndianNavy & all who rescued me pic.twitter.com/vNhZN2fJjj

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) September 26, 2018

Cdr Tomy said that he was extremely thankful to the Indian Navy and all others who joined in the effort to rescue him.

Cdr Tomy suffered a back injury after his yacht was hit by a vicious storm with 14-metre-high waves and wind speeds of over 100 knots. The accident left him immobilised on the yacht but he was able to communicate via an emergency texting device.

The mission to rescue the Indian Navy officer saw a combined effort of the Indian Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, members of the Golden Globe round-the-world race and ships of other nations.

The Commander was rescued on 24 September by French fishing vessel FV Osiris, three days after his yacht, the indigenously made SV Thuriya, was crippled by a storm about 1,900 nautical miles from Perth in Australia.

Read More: Injured Indian Navy Commander Abhilash Tomy rescued by French fishing vessel

Cdr Tomy was taken to New Amsterdam, a 55-square-kilometre sub-Antarctic island, in the South Indian Ocean by the fishing vessel. Indian Navy frigate INS Satpura will evacuate the sailor to Mauritius, which is closest to the island.

Due to the geographic location, the Commander cannot be flown to India from anywhere other than Mauritius.

An Indian Navy P8i was the first to spot the Commander’s yacht, which helped coordinate in the rescue mission.

Following his rescue by the French vessel, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman confirmed that Cdr Tomy was “conscious and doing okay”.

The Commander’s father, Lt Cdr VC Tomy (Retd.), had heaved a sigh of relief following the news of his son’s rescue.

The Indian Navy had said that the rescue aircraft found the Thuriya’s mast broken and hanging on the side and the boat “rolling excessively” in the waves.

Besides INS Satpura, the Indian Navy also dispatched INS Jyoti at top speed to reach the Commander. The situation was being monitored at Naval Headquarters in New Delhi, as well as by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre at Melbourne, Australia.

The 39-year-old Commander, a Kirti Chakra awardee, became the first Indian and second Asian to sail around the world solo in a sailboat in 2013. He was also the only Indian participating in the Golden Globe Race that involves 30,000 miles solo circumnavigation of the globe without modern technology except satellite communication.