Paradip: Two Chinese sailors of a Panama-registered bulk carrier that is feared to have sunk in the Bay of Bengal off Odisha were safely brought to Paradip Port on Thursday.
As per reports, the survivors have been identified as Pan Tonglai and Chen Jianhe. They were found adrift on a life raft and rescued by merchant tanker MT Aispos on August 22. Later, they were transferred to Indian Coast Guard Ship Varad, which brought them ashore.
It is pertinent to mention that the 225-metre-long vessel, MV Ocean Winner, was loaded with 71,000 tonnes of iron ore and was en route from Paradip to Singapore when contact with it was lost. The missing report was sent to the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) at Sri Vijaya Puram on August 22 by Victory Star Group Co. Ltd.
The carrier had 24 crew on board — 20 Chinese, three from Myanmar and one Bangladeshi. After receiving the alert, the Indian Coast Guard, along with the Indian Navy and other agencies, started a massive search and rescue mission.
A Navy P-8I aircraft was deployed for aerial surveillance around 230 nautical miles southeast of Paradip and spotted three life rafts drifting in the sea.
