Correction: A previous version of this story misstated sailor Uku Randmaa's nationality. He is Estonian. (CNN) — A multinational rescue effort is underway to try to reach an injured sailor whose yacht is disabled in the South Indian Ocean. Abhilash Tomy, a 39-year-old Indian naval commander, was competing in the 2018 Golden Globe Race – a nonstop, 30,000-mile solo yachting competition that bars the use of modern technology – when his boat hit a storm. Tomy’s 36-foot boat, Thuriya, was one of several hit by 80 mph winds and 46-foot seas midway across the South Indian Ocean on Friday, 82 days into the race, organizers said. DAMIEN MEYER/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Abhilash Tomy on his boat "Thuriya" at the start of the race. Thuriya’s mast was broken about 1,900 miles southwest of Perth, Australia “at the extreme limit of immediate rescue range,” they said in a series of media statements. Organizers became concerned after Tomy sent a text message reading: “ROLLED. DISMASTED. SEVERE BACK INJURY. CANNOT GET UP,” and then was unheard from for nearly 15 hours. JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP/AFP/Getty Images Abhilash Tomy departs Les Sables d'Olonne Harbour on July 1, 2018. In a later satellite text message, the sailor gave his location and wrote: “ACTIVATED EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon). CANT WALK. MIGHT NEED STRETCHER.” The race said that subsequent messages indicated that Tomy was safe but lying immobilized in his bunk, with his latest message reading: “CAN MOVE TOES. FEEL NUMB. CAN’T EAT OR DRINK. TOUGH 2 REACH GRAB BAG.” The Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Canberra, Australia, is in charge of the rescue operation. Race organizers posted a photo to Facebook early Sunday of the Thuriya taken from an Indian Navy aircraft and showing the vessel’s sails in the water. Organizers said in the post that Tomy was able to tell them via text message that he heard the airplane fly by. Pictures of THURIYA from Indian Navy P-81 Aircraft a few hours ago. Mast sails still in the water. #GGR2018 Tomy heard... Posted by Golden Globe Race on Sunday, September 23, 2018 An executive jet has also been dispatched from Perth, Australia, with crew that will assess damage to Tomy’s boat. The crew had intended to make radio contact with him early Sunday, but the batteries on Tomy’s communication devices have since died, organizers said in a Facebook post. Short Update! Indian Navy overflew Tomy during the night. Australian JRCC Aircraft about to Overfly Tomy and Gregor... Posted by Golden Globe Race on Saturday, September 22, 2018 Rescuers also will check on Irish skipper Gregor McGuckin, whose boat was rolled in the same storm and who was about 90 miles away from Tomy, organizers said. McGuckin had set up a makeshift rig on his boat and was trying to reach Tomy using a mixture of wind and engine power. The Australian, Indian and French navies also are sending vessels to assist. A French fisheries patrol vessel with medical facilities on board is expected to reach Tomy first, while Indian authorities dispatched a military plane from Mauritius and are diverting a stealth frigate and tanker from exercises off South Africa. Australian authorities are sending an Anzac-class frigate, but it is expected to take four to five days to reach Tomy. Estonian sailor Uku Randmaa is also trying to reach the disabled boats. Race organizers said Sunday that poor weather conditions will delay the arrival of the first ship to Tomy until Tuesday. McGuckin could reach Tomy on Monday. HMAS Ballarat is on its way assist an injured solo yachtsman, approximately 1800 nautical miles off the WA coast. The sailor, an officer in the Indian Navy is understood to have suffered a serious back injury when his ten metre vessel, “Thuriya” was de-masted in extreme weather. pic.twitter.com/e5zgO6F7bj — Royal Australian Navy (@Australian_Navy) September 23, 2018 Origins of the race The 2018 Golden Globe fleet set sail on July 1 from Les Sables d’Olonne in France. The race is by invitation only and requires prior ocean sailing experience of at least 8,000 miles and solo experience of at least 2,000 miles. Eighteen vessels began this year’s race – marking the 50th anniversary of the original race – but by September 10 seven of the boats had retired from the competition. In line with the 1968 race, skippers must navigate using paper charts and the stars, with no watermaker aboard. However, the 2018 boats carry some modern technology to keep their skippers safe. The sailors have the ability to send 100-character text reports via satellite twice a day and to use a satellite phone to make a weekly safety check. Each boat also carries a sealed safety box containing a GPS and second satellite phone, but breaking the seal disqualifies a sailor from the race. Race organizers also track the boats via GPS – though sailors cannot see the data. Tomy’s boat is a replica of Robin Knox-Johnston’s yacht Suhaili. Knox-Johnston won the inaugural Golden Globe race, becoming the first person to sail solo around the world nonstop. His trip took 312 days and he was the only finisher of the nine skippers who started the race. Knox-Johnston expressed concern for Tomy on Twitter Sunday morning. “Very concerned about @abhilashtomy’s injuries and will be glad when assistance can reach him,” he said.<doc-sep>First Name Last Name We will use the details you have shared to manage your registration. 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PANAJI: When Indian Navy sailor Abhilash Tomy sailed out of the Les Sables d'Olonne, France, on a Goa-built yacht on July 1, he knew he was taking a risk. As the first Indian to single-handedly sail around the world without a stop in a tiny vessel, Tomy was well-versed with the ocean's unforgiving nature.But for Tomy, his love for the ocean blue was despite its treacherous nature. While sailing as part of the iconic Golden Globe Race , a 14m-high wave rolled over and left him severely injured. His vessel, Thuriya , momentarily capsized and his mast snapped in the storm in the remote waters of the Southern Indian Ocean. "The windwane autopilot is destroyed," said Aquarius fiberglass shipyard managing director Ratnakar Dandekar. "I presume he has hull integrity because he has not reported any water entry. It is worrisome. We have to just hang on till someone reaches him. "The Thuriya was built at Dandekar's Divar-based shipyard.Given the danger and the precarious weather conditions, race organisers are working closely with the Australian Rescue Co-ordination Center in Canberra. Australian authorities have issued an alert to all ships, said the race's media co-ordinator, Barry Pickthall. The Indian Navy has also joined in the rescue effort and has diverted the stealth frigate INS Satapura, which had been forward deployed to the Southern Indian Ocean, to help locate and rescue the commander.The storm witnessed wind speeds of 70 knots (130kmph) and rough sea conditions of 45 feet.According to his on-shore support team, race officials received a code red alert from Tomy on September 21 at 5:39pm that his mast had broken off and that he had a "severe back injury and was unable to move". The joint rescue centre at Australia has alerted nearby vessels to head towards Tomy and help in locating the stricken vessel.According to race officials, Tomy remains incapacitated on his bunk inside the boat and is using the portable Yellow Brick YB3 texting unit to maintain contact with race officials. The primary satellite phone is damaged. There is a second sat phone and the second YB3 texting unit, but he cannot reach them. "He is safe in the vessel," commander Dilip Dhonde, the first Indian to complete a solo circumnavigation, said. "It will take a few days for rescue vessels to reach him. "According to Indian Navy officials, Tomy had switched on his emergency position-indicating radio beacon to help rescuers locate him. The 39-year-old is a recipient of the Kirti Chakra and is the only invitee from Asia to participate in the prestigious race that commenced from France. The Thuriya was in the third position after he sailed over 10,500 nautical miles in the last 84 days as part of the gruelling 30,000-mile solo circumnavigation race. ( With inputs from Kochi)