Paradip (Odisha) [India], August 27 (ANI): The Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Varad safely brought two Chinese survivors of the sunken bulk carrier MV Ocean Winner to Paradip on Thursday, even as an extensive, multi-agency search and rescue operation presses on for the 22 remaining missing crew members.
“On 27 August 2026, the two rescued survivors were brought to Paradip onboard Indian Coast Guard Ship Varad safely. Rescued survivors were medically administered en route and were handed over to authorised company agents in the presence of officials from the Bureau of Immigration and Local police,” an official statement said.
The two survivors, identified as Pan Tonglai and Chen Jianhe, were rescued from a life raft in the Bay of Bengal on August 22 by the proactive intervention of the merchant vessel MT AISOPOS.
According to officials, the seamen received continuous medical care onboard the Coast Guard vessel during their transit back to the mainland. Upon arrival at Paradip, they were safely handed over to authorised shipping company agents in the presence of Bureau of Immigration officials and local police.
The Panama-flagged cargo ship carrying 24 crew members, including 20 Chinese nationals, three from Myanmar and one from Bangladesh, had issued a distress alert on August 22 while operating around 300 nautical miles north-northwest of Diglipur in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Coast Guard said that ICGS Varad, while coordinating with merchant vessels in the area, was conducting an extensive search for the remaining missing crew.
During an aerial search, a naval aircraft detected a distress transmission and guided ICGS Varad towards the reported location. The Coast Guard vessel subsequently recovered an emergency beacon from the area, which was verified and confirmed to be associated with MV Ocean Winner.
At approximately 0700 hours on August 25, ICGS Varad located a lifeboat belonging to MV Ocean Winner in the search area. A boarding team inspected the lifeboat, but no survivors were found.
Meanwhile, additional Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships and aircraft have been mobilised to scour the designated area in the deep waters of the Bay of Bengal, with authorities leaving no stone unturned in the race against time to locate the 22 still unaccounted-for crew members. (ANI)
Related reading
