11 Indians missing after vessel sinks in Pacific

Tokyo, Japan - Eleven Indian crew members were missing on Friday after their cargo ship sank in the Pacific off the Philippines as a typhoon churned in the region, Japan’s coastguard said.

The 33,205-tonne Emerald Star with 26 Indian nationals on board sent a distress signal early on Friday as the Hong Kong-registered vessel was sailing some 280km east of the northern tip of the Philippines, said a statement from the Japanese coastguard, which received the distress signal.

Three other vessels sailing near the area rescued 15 crew members but 11 others were still missing, a Japanese coastguard spokesman said, adding that the cargo ship has sunk.

“We have dispatched two patrol boats and three planes to the site but a typhoon has made a rescue difficult,” the spokesman added.

‘Fifteen Indians rescued, search on for missing 11 following sinking of a ship off Okinawa. Our Missions in Japan, Philippines & China on the job’, India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Ravish Kumar tweeted.

The Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reported that Japan’s 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters based in Naha, Okinawa, said that it received an emergency call from Emerald Star on Friday.

The Coast Guard said it had dispatched patrol boats and aircraft to rescue the missing crew, but the operations were hampered by a raging typhoon. There were no immediate details available on where the ship was headed or what was the cause of the sinking.