9 folks rescued from 16-strong crew of Indian and Sri Lankan nationals as search ongoing for others.
Rescuers have saved 9 crew members and retrieved the physique of one other after their oil tanker went down off the coast of Oman within the Arabian Sea.
The search groups responded to the tanker, MT Status Falcon, after it keeled over late on Monday some 25 nautical miles (46.3km) from Oman’s Ras Madrakah, mentioned the nation’s maritime safety company on Wednesday. 13 Indian and three Sri Lankan nationals had been on board.
It was not instantly clear what prompted the Comorian-flagged ship to capsize. However the Indian Navy, which despatched a warship to assist in search operations, mentioned groups had been coping with tough seas and robust winds.
In a press release, India’s navy mentioned eight Indian nationals had been amongst these rescued, and that Indian and Omani groups had been persevering with to search for the others.
It mentioned a long-range naval reconnaissance plane was aiding within the seek for six crew members nonetheless unaccounted for.
India’s navy has been deployed repeatedly across the Arabian Sea since 2008 and has assisted in quite a few rescue operations prior to now yr following a surge in regional piracy assaults.
The 117-metre lengthy (384-foot lengthy) MT Status Falcon entered operations in 2007 and was headed for the port metropolis of Aden earlier than it bumped into bother, based on delivery web site VesselFinder.
In apparently unrelated incidents, Houthi rebels attacked two different oil tankers off the coast of neighbouring Yemen on the identical day, concentrating on them with missiles and drones.
Houthi navy spokesman Yahya Saree recognized the 2 ships because the Panama-flagged Bentley I and the Liberia-flagged Chios Lion.
The Chios Lion, an oil tanker, seemingly spilled oil after a Houthi drone slammed into its port facet, with a 220km (137-mile) lengthy oil slick positioned alongside Yemen’s coast after the assault, based on the Battle and Atmosphere Observatory.
The Houthis have been attacking ships within the Purple Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November in a marketing campaign they are saying is meant to indicate solidarity with Palestinians amid Israel’s struggle on Gaza.
The assaults pressured among the world’s largest delivery corporations to droop operations within the area, as an alternative sending their vessels on the longer route across the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa slowing commerce between Asia and Europe.
