NEW DELHI: Nine crew members -- eight Indians and a Sri Lankan -- from the oil tanker MT Falcon Prestige which sank off the coast of Oman on Sunday have been rescued. There were 16 crew members on the vessel (13 Indians and three Sri Lankans).
“Search and rescue operations to find the remaining crew members will continue in the area. Those found are recovering in a hospital in Muscat,” said a source.
The Comoros-flagged vessel, MT Falcon, transmitted a distress call at 2200 hours on July 14.
The Indian Embassy in Oman is in constant touch with the Omani authorities. The Indian Navy has also joined the search and rescue operations.
The vessel capsized off the coast of Oman -- 25 nautical miles southeast of Ras Madrakah in the Wilayat of Duqm on Monday.
It remains submerged and inverted according to reports coming in. It has not been confirmed whether the oil it was carrying has leaked.
The vessel was heading to the Yemeni port of Aden when it capsized off the Omani port of Duqm.
The vessel is a 117-metre-long oil products tanker built in 2007. Such small tankers are typically used for short coastal voyages. Omani authorities started a search and rescue operation at the scene in coordination with maritime officials.
Oman’s port of Duqm, located on the southwest coast, is near the Omani sultanate's oil and gas extraction facilities, which includes a major oil refinery that is part of Duqm's industrial zone, the largest economic project in Oman.
Meanwhile, in another incident involving Indians in Oman, one Indian was killed and another injured in a shooting near a Shiite mosque in Muscat on Monday, the Indian Embassy said.
Nine people, including three attackers, were killed in the attack on the mosque. Around 28 people, including security personnel, were also injured in the incident.
The attack came as Shi'ite Muslims observed Ashura, an annual period of mourning to commemorate the 7th-century death of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad.