9 sailors, including 8 Indians rescued from crew of vessel that capsized off Oman coast

The merchant vessel had a crew of 16, of whom 13 are Indians. No information as yet on the remaining Indian crew members.

At least nine sailors, including eight Indian nationals and a Sri Lankan citizen, have been rescued from the crew of Comoros flagged vessel, MT Falcon Prestige, that capsized on 14 July 2024 off the coast of Oman, people familiar with the matter said.The merchant vessel had a crew of 16, of whom 13 were Indians. There is no information as yet on the remaining Indian crew members. “Embassy is coordinating SAR ops with Omani authorities and @indiannavy for MT Prestige Falcon, a Comoros flagged vessel that capsized off the coast of Oman on July 15th. 9 crew including 8 Indians have been rescued today by INS Teg. Search for the remaining survivors continues,” the Indian Embassy in Oman posted on X.

The merchant vessel had a crew of 16, of whom 13 were Indians. No information as yet on the remaining Indian crew members. (Representational image)

The vessel had transmitted a distress call around 10 pm on July 14 off the Oman coast. Prestige Falcon capsized 25 nautical miles southeast of Ras Madrakah. This is near the Omani port of Duqm.

The 117-metre-long oil products tanker was built in 2007. According to LSEG data accessed by PTI, Falcon Prestige was heading to the Yemeni port of Aden.

According to an ANI report, Indian Navy's warship INS Teg was deployed along the maritime surveillance aircraft P-8I along with the Omani vessels and personnel to carry out search and rescue missions.

INS Teg was carrying out an operational turnaround in the area from where it was directed on July 15 to carry out search and rescue missions. The naval warship had located the tanker on July 16.

"A search and rescue operation for the seafarers, coordinated by the Oman Maritime Security Center (OMSC), is on. Indian Navy has also joined the search and rescue operations," ANI had quoted a source from the Indian embassy.