Odisha, August 23: Two crew members have been rescued from a life raft while a wide-ranging joint search and rescue operation by the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy continues in the Bay of Bengal following the sinking of a Panama-flagged cargo vessel. The ship, MV Ocean Winner, went down approximately 240 nautical miles off the Paradip coast in Odisha, carrying 24 multinational crew members and a shipment of iron ore.
Officials confirmed that the vessel was carrying 20 Chinese nationals, three crew members from Myanmar, and one Bangladeshi national. Authorities noted that other commercial vessels navigating the area have been requested to maintain a sharp look-out and assist in the search efforts.
The ship had departed from the Odisha coast heading toward Singapore before losing all communication with its shore base, an incident that immediately raised alarms. Indian maritime safety agencies promptly mobilized air and sea assets to pinpoint the locations of the remaining crew. Maritime officials asserted that the precise cause behind the vessel’s rapid sinking has not been identified yet, while local law enforcement noted that initial rescue counts remained uncertain during the opening hours of the emergency.
