China joins India search for 22 missing after cargo ship sinks
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Members of Indian Coast Guard check a lifeboat associated with the Panama-flagged ship MV Ocean Winner that sank off the coast of Odisha.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- The Panama-flagged cargo ship MV Ocean Winner sank in the Bay of Bengal, with 22 crew members missing and two rescued so far.
- The vessel was en route from Paradip, India to Singapore when it sent a distress alert about 700 km east of Visakhapatnam.
- India and China are coordinating search efforts, with Chinese vessels joining the rescue; the sinking cause remains unknown.
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MUMBAI – Chinese authorities were assisting India’s search for 22 crew members missing after a Panama-flagged cargo vessel sank in the Bay of Bengal last week, the Indian Coast Guard said.
The MV Ocean Winner, carrying 24 crew members including 20 Chinese nationals, was sailing from Paradip port in the eastern Indian state of Odisha to Singapore when it sent a distress alert on Aug 22.
The vessel reported trouble around 700 kilometres east of the coastal city of Visakhapatnam, prompting a rescue operation by Indian authorities.
Two people have been rescued, leaving 22 still unaccounted for.
Three crew members are from Myanmar and one from Bangladesh.
Despite locating an emergency beacon linked to the vessel, rescuers have yet to find any additional survivors, Indian Coast Guard spokesman Commandant Amit Uniyal said in a statement late on Aug 25.
“Search and rescue efforts for the missing crew members of MV Ocean Winner have been further augmented in coordination with MRCC Beijing,” Uniyal said, referring to China’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre.
A lifeboat from the vessel has been spotted, but no survivors were found, he said.
Local media reports said two Chinese vessels had joined the search operation.
The cause of the sinking was not clear. AFP
