Meanwhile, INS "Nipat" continued towards Karachi and targeted the Kemari oil storage tanks, placing itself south of the Karachi harbour. Two missiles were launched; one misfired, but the other hit the oil tanks, which burned and were destroyed completely, causing a Pakistani fuel shortage. The task force returned to the nearest Indian ports. Soon the PNHQ deployed rescue teams on patrol vessels to recover the survivors of "Khaibar". As "Muhafiz" sank before it could transmit a distress call, the Pakistanis only learned of its fate from its few survivors who were recovered when a patrol vessel steered towards the ship's burning flotsam. The Pakistan Air Force retaliated for these attacks by bombing Okha harbour, scoring direct hits on fuelling facilities for missile boats, an ammunition dump, and the missile boats' jetty. The Indian Navy anticipated this attack and had already moved the missile boats to other locations to prevent any losses. However, the destruction of a special fuel tank prevented any further incursions until Operation Python, executed three days later. As a result of the operation, all of the Pakistan Armed Forces were put on high alert. The deployments raised a number of false alarms in the ensuing days about the presence of Indian Navy vessels off Karachi. One such false alarm was raised by a Pakistan Navy Fokker Friendship reconnaissance aircraft on 6 December 1971, which incorrectly reported a frigate of the Pakistan Navy as an Indian Navy missile boat. The PNHQ requested a Pakistan Air Force air strike on the supposed Indian ship. At 06.45 am (PKT), fighter jets were scrambled and strafed the vessel before it was identified as the frigate . This friendly fire incident resulted in casualties and damage to the vessel. With no casualties on the Indian side, this operation was considered to be one of the most successful in modern naval history post-World War II. To mark this victory, the Indian Navy annually celebrates Navy Day on 4 December. A number of Indian Navy personnel were honoured with gallantry awards for the operation. Then Fleet Operations Officer, Captain (later Vice Admiral) Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani, was awarded the "Nau Sena" Medal for the detailed operational planning; the "Maha Vir Chakra" was awarded to the strike group commander, Cdr Babru Bhan Yadav, for planning and leading the task force; and "Vir Chakras" were awarded to Lieutenant Commanders Bahadur Nariman Kavina, Inderjit Sharma, and Om Prakash Mehta, the commanding officers of INS "Nipat", INS "Nirghat", and INS "Veer" respectively.