India rescues 2 Chinese nationals from sunken cargo ship, searches for others
The Panama-flagged vessel had 24 crew on board, including 20 Chinese nationals, according to India’s coastguard
The two rescued Chinese seafarers said the vessel developed a list on Friday and sank within eight minutes, forcing crew to abandon ship, Shyam Jagannathan, director general of India’s Maritime Administration, said.
Jagannathan said the chances of finding survivors generally fall sharply after 12 hours, but rescuers were continuing the search.
Twenty-two crew members remain missing from the Ocean Winner, including 18 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi, according to the Indian coastguard.
The Indian navy is closely coordinating with the coastguard to locate the remaining crew, the navy said in a post on social media.
The coastguard has sent two vessels from Sri Vijaya Puram, formerly known as Port Blair, for the search-and-rescue operation, a coastguard spokesperson said.