Indrani, a cargo vessel loaded with soda ash, capsized in the Arabian Sea off the Diu coast in the early hours of Thursday after getting caught in cyclone Phyan.

The 12 crew members on board Indrani were rescued by Rajlakshmi, a fishing trawler from Veraval. The crew is expected to reach Veraval by Thursday night.

The incident occurred between Jaffrabad and Diu. Indrani had left Veraval Port on November 10 and was reportedly carrying soda ash worth Rs 1 crore. It was on its way to Calicut in Kerala and the crew also belonged to Kerala. According to reports, the vessel had sailed for only a couple of hours from Veraval when it was caught in rough weather.

According to fishermen in Diu, the crew battled rough weather and water-logging for more than a day before the vessel sank on Thursday.

Kantibhai Deram, a fisherman from Diu, said: “Distress signals sent by the crew were noticed by Rajlakshmi, which was also trying to reach the shore to escape the fury of Phyan. The entire crew of Indarni was taken on board the Rajlakshmi.