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 government in a statement said that it is using aircraft and vessels to search for 10 Indian crew members, the external affairs ministry said.
They also said that five Indian crew members of ‘Emerald Star’ are in Irene, the Philippines, and the country’s mission is bringing them to Manila before repatriation to India. “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.
“Indian Embassy in Japan has informed me that a helicopter and 2 patrol vessels of Japan Coast Guard are engaged in search/rescue operations,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said. The minister said the Indian Navy’s P8I aircraft has reached Manila and joined the search and rescue operation for the missing Indians. P8I is a long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft.
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