Cargo ship sinks in Bay of Bengal, rescue operation for 22 crew on

A Panama-flagged cargo ship, MV Ocean Winner, has sunk in the Bay of Bengal about 240 nautical miles off the Odisha coast, triggering an active search and rescue effort.

The vessel was carrying iron ore bound for China and had 24 crew members aboard, made up of 20 Chinese nationals, three from Myanmar and one from Bangladesh.

Two crew members have been rescued so far, pulled from separate liferafts by the merchant vessel MT AISOPOS, which was nearby at the time.

The Indian Coast Guard has deployed several ships to the area, including ICGS Varad and ICGS Anmol, with ICGS Vijit sailing from Sri Vijaya Puram to reinforce the search.

The ship issued a distress alert on Saturday before losing contact, and the cause of the sinking remains unknown.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said all agencies are coordinating closely and continuing the search for the remaining 22 crew members.

MV Ocean Winner had departed from Paradip port in Odisha and was bound for China, roughly 240 nautical miles off the Odisha coast when it went down.

The ship issued a distress alert on Saturday before losing contact, prompting the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy to launch a joint search and rescue operation.

Coast Guard ships ICGS Varad and ICGS Anmol were deployed immediately to the site, while ICGS Vijit sailed from Sri Vijaya Puram to reinforce the search.

The two survivors were recovered from separate liferafts by the merchant vessel MT AISOPOS, which was in the vicinity and joined the rescue effort.

Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said all agencies are coordinating closely and actively continuing search and rescue efforts for the remaining crew.

The cause of the sinking has not yet been determined, with authorities focused on the search and rescue operation before any investigation into the incident begins.

Photo by Ting Chen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0