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The Indian coast guard and navy continue search and rescue operations off the eastern coast after a Panama-flagged bulk carrier with 24 crew members on board sank, having rescued two Chinese citizens, a senior official reported.
The two Chinese sailors stated that the vessel, named Ocean Winner, began to list on Friday, August 21, and sank within eight minutes, forcing the crew to abandon ship, Shyam Jagannathan, Director General of the Indian Maritime Administration, told Reuters.
Jagannathan said that the chances of finding survivors usually drop drastically after the first 12 hours, but rescue teams were continuing the search.
"All agencies are closely coordinating and conducting active search and rescue efforts," Sarbananda Sonowal, Federal Minister for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, said in a social media post.
Among the missing crew members are another 18 Chinese citizens, three Myanmar citizens, and one Bangladeshi, according to the Indian coast guard.
The Indian Navy is closely coordinating with the coast guard to locate the missing sailors, the institution itself reported in a post on X.
Two coast guard vessels from Sri Vijaya Puram – previously known as Port Blair, capital of India's Andaman and Nicobar archipelago – were deployed for the search and rescue operation, a spokesperson for the agency indicated.
The Ocean Winner was transporting iron ore bound for China after having sailed on Friday, August 21, from Paradip Port in eastern India, according to a preliminary report prepared by the country's Maritime Administration.
It sank about 240 nautical miles from the port, according to government sources.
The cause of the sinking was not immediately known.
