A Panama-flagged bulk carrier sank approximately 700 kilometres east of Visakhapatnam on Sunday, with two crew members rescued and 22 others still missing.
A merchant vessel sank off India's eastern coast on Sunday, triggering a coordinated rescue operation involving the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. The Panama-flagged bulk carrier MV Ocean Winner, which was en route to Singapore from Odisha state's Paradip port, issued a distress signal from a location roughly 700 kilometres east of Visakhapatnam.
Rescue teams managed to extract two of the 24 crew members aboard the vessel. According to the Navy, a patrol aircraft located life rafts in the vicinity and coordinated with a nearby commercial vessel, MT Aisopos, to retrieve the two survivors from the water. The Coast Guard deployed three vessels to assist in the ongoing search and rescue efforts, while the Navy repositioned a surveillance aircraft to monitor the area.
The crew composition was diverse, with the majority being Chinese nationals. According to Press Trust of India, citing Coast Guard sources, 20 crew members were from China, three from Myanmar, and one from Bangladesh. However, the nationalities of the two rescued individuals have not yet been confirmed. Authorities continue searching for the remaining 22 crew members, though current details about their status remain limited.
