Cargo Ship Capsizes: Search operation continues

New Delhi: The government was using aircraft and vessels to search for 10 Indian crew members, who went missing after their cargo ship sank in the Pacific off the Philippines last week, the external affairs ministry said on Monday.

They also said that five Indian crew members of ‘Emerald Star’ are in Irene, the Philippines, and country’s mission is bringing them to Manila before repatriation to India.

With no trace of Captain Rajesh Nair, a Virar resident, even 48 hours, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Sunday promised to request the Japanese coast guard to continue the search mission.

“Officials from our Guangzhou Consulate visited the injured Indian crew of ‘Emerald Star’ in a Xiamen hospital. 11 crew members are in Xiamen. Search for missing 10 crew members still ongoing using aircraft and vessels. We will keep posting regular updates on further developments,” ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

On Friday, the 33,205-tonne cargo ship Emerald Star with 26 Indian nationals on board sank off Okinawa. While 16 Indians were rescued, a search for the missing crew members was launched by Indian missions in the Philippines, Japan and China to locate them.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday announced helpline numbers for information related to the sinking of a cargo ship off Japan, in which 11 Indians went missing.