Crew of cargo ship hit by cyclone rescued,search on for 5 missing

Authorities have launched a search and rescue operation. Four Coast Guard ships and two Dornier aircraft have been deployed. “We have alerted the vigilance committees of 591 fishing villages along the coast,seeking information about the missing persons,” said C Sylendra Babu ADGP,the head of Coastal Security Group.

Officials said since the crew on those lifeboats who were rescued had life jackets,they assumed that the missing persons might also be wearing it. However,they feared that the men could have drifted several hundred kilometres away as the sea was very rough.

The cargo ship was anchored at the Chennai port for over a month. It was among the vessels that were ordered to move to outer sea to prevent damages due to the cyclone. But before the ship could reach safer depths,strong winds pushed it towards the shore making it run aground. It attracted the attention of fishermen,who risked their lives to venture into the rough sea and managed to save five-six seafarers. Soon,Navy and Coast Guard rescued the rest. Anand Mohandoss,30,second engineer,drowned. Four of those rescued are in ICU.

The versions by authorities and relatives of seafarers differed as to what prompted the crew to abandon the relative safety of the ship to take the risk of getting on board lifeboats — despite the Coast Guard asking them to remain in the vessel.

Officials said the crew may have panicked and calculated that they had enough time to reach the shores.

However,relatives of the crew said the authorities were not revealing the complete story. “The captain had asked them to lower the lifeboats and go to the shore. When Jomon called me at 2.45 pm,I told him that they should not leave the ship. The lifeboats will not survive in the sea. I think the captain panicked and ordered them to leave,” said Jomon’s uncle Joseph Mathew,a veteran seafarer.

Anand’s mother Vijayalakshmi Mohandoss said her son joined the ship on a six months contract which expired in September. “There was a dispute between the shipping company and port authorities due to which the ship was stationed here without paying salary to workers. He called me at 2.30 pm and told me they were caught in the storm. Then came the news of his death. The company should take responsibility for his death,” she said.

The Director General of Shipping would conduct an investigation.