Eleven Indian crew members went missing on Friday after their cargo ship sank in the Pacific off the Philippines, prompting Indian missions in the Philippines, Japan and China to launch a search for them.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said these missions were regularly monitoring the situation. “Fifteen Indians rescued, search on for missing 11 following sinking of a ship off Okinawa,” he tweeted.
The Japanese Coast Guard said the 33,205-tonne Emerald Star with 26 Indian nationals on board sent a distress signal early today as the Hong Kong-registered vessel was sailing 280 km east of the northern tip of the Philippines.