Cargo vessel with 24 on board sinks off Indian coast, 2 rescued

A Panama-flagged cargo vessel sank off the coast of Odisha in eastern India, with two people rescued, as authorities launched a major search and rescue operation, an official statement said Sunday.

The vessel MV Ocean Winner was carrying 24 crew members, including 20 Chinese nationals, three from Myanmar and one Bangladeshi, the Indian Coast Guard said in a statement on US social media company X.

Officials said the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Sri Vijaya Puram, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, launched a rescue operation Saturday after receiving a distress alert from the Ocean Winner and subsequently losing contact with the vessel.

The Indian Coast Guard said two survivors were rescued from life rafts during the operation.

Three ships have also been deployed to conduct surface searches for the remaining crew members, it added.