A Panama-flagged cargo ship carrying 24 crew members sank in the Bay of Bengal on Saturday, officials said. The vessel, MV Ocean Winner, was transporting iron ore from Paradip, a major port in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, to Singapore when it went down about 240 nautical miles off the Odisha coast.
Rescue operation underway
The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy have launched a rescue operation. Coast Guard ships Varad and Anmol, along with a third vessel, Vijit, from Sri Vijaya Puram, have been deployed to support the effort. Another vessel in the vicinity has also joined the rescue operation.
Crew details and initial rescues
Twenty of the 24 crew members are Chinese nationals, while three are from Myanmar and one is Bangladeshi. A senior IPS officer told Indian news agency PTI: "So far, two persons have been rescued from the waters."
The bulk carrier set off from Paradip Port at 6.43pm BST (10.43pm UTC) on Thursday, according to Marine Traffic.
