NEW DELHI, Aug 23 (Reuters) – The Coast Guard and Navy of India are continuing their search-and-rescue efforts off the eastern coast after a cargo ship, flagged in Panama, sank with 24 crew members on board. Two Chinese crew members have been rescued, according to a senior official.
The rescued Chinese sailors reported that the ship began to lean on Friday and sank within eight minutes, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, said Shyam Jagannathan, the director general of India’s Maritime Administration.
Jagannathan noted that the likelihood of finding survivors decreases significantly after 12 hours, but the search is still ongoing.
Currently, 22 crew members are missing from the Ocean Winner, which includes 18 Chinese nationals, three from Myanmar, and one from Bangladesh, according to the Indian Coast Guard.
The Navy is working closely with the Coast Guard to find the missing crew, as stated in a post on X.
The Coast Guard has deployed two vessels from Sri Vijaya Puram, previously known as Port Blair, to assist in the search-and-rescue operation, according to a Coast Guard spokesperson.
The Ocean Winner was transporting iron ore to China after leaving from Paradip port in eastern India on Friday, based on initial reports from India’s Maritime Administration.
The ship sank approximately 240 nautical miles from the port, as confirmed by government sources.
The reason for the sinking is not yet known.