The Panama-flagged cargo vessel MV Ocean-Winner sank about 240 nautical miles off India’s Odisha coast, with all 24 crew members reported missing. The crew included 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi national. The vessel had departed Paradip port for Singapore at about 10:30pm on August 20 carrying 1,700 tonnes of iron ore.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Sri Vijaya Puram received information that contact with the ship had been lost at 11:48am on August 22. Victory Star Group Company Limited, the vessel’s operator, reported the matter and requested support for search and rescue operations.

India’s Coast Guard and Navy have launched a joint operation to locate the vessel and rescue its crew. Officials had not confirmed how many crew members, if any, had been rescued. A senior IPS officer told PTI that authorities were unsure of the number of crew members recovered. Other ships near the accident site have been alerted and asked to assist the rescue effort.