India's eastern coast saw a search and rescue operation on Sunday after a distress alert and loss of contact with a Panama-flagged vessel carrying 24 crew members, as reported by infohub.kz.
Two crew members from the cargo ship MV Ocean Winner were rescued late Saturday. Three ships were deployed to conduct surface searches for the remaining crew members in a joint operation by the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy.
The two rescued individuals are undergoing medical treatment, and their ranks and identities are being verified, said Sarbananda Sonowal, India's Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways.
The commercial vessel MT Aisopos, in the vicinity, was asked to assist the ship in distress, which was carrying 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals, and one Bangladeshi among the crew, the coast guard said.
According to the Press Trust of India, the cargo ship sank in the Bay of Bengal on Saturday about 276 miles (444 kilometers) from the Paradip coast of eastern Odisha state.
Sonowal stated on X that the ship was carrying iron ore from Paradip Port to China.