Port Blair, Oct 16: Eleven Indian crew members, including one Engineer from Andaman, went missing on Friday after a cargo ship, ‘The Emerald Star’ sank in the Pacific off the Philippines, prompting Indian missions in the Philippines, Japan and China to launch a search for them. The missing Andaman crew is Fourth Engineer, Mr. Subbaiah Suresh Kumar.
External affairs ministry spokesperson, Raveesh Kumar said that they are regularly monitoring the situation.
“Fifteen Indians rescued, search on for missing 11 following sinking of a ship off Okinawa. Our Missions in Japan, Philippines and China on the job,” he tweeted.
According to a statement from the Japanese coastguard, the 33,205-tonne Emerald Star with 26 Indian nationals on board sent a distress signal early on Friday as the Hong Kong- registered vessel was sailing some 280 kilometres east of the northern tip of the Philippines.
Meanwhile, efforts have been initiated in Andaman also to ensure that the search operation continues for all missing crew including fourth Engineer, Suresh Kumar, a resident of Dairy Farm, Port Blair.
As per detail the Seafarers Confederation of India (SCI) had taken up this matter with higher authorities and it has been assured to SCI that the search operation will continue for seven days. Meanwhile a delegation of SCI and Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh also went and met the mother of the missing Engineer.
Meanwhile, Talking to Andaman Sheekha, the Councillor of the Dairy Farm area, Mr B Eshwar Rao said that he met the Chief Secretary along with the mother of the Missing Crew today where he briefed him about the situation. “We have given all the details of the missing crew and the CS has assured that by tomorrow he will get all the details about him and whatever necessary action that has to be taken by the administration, will be taken up at the earliest,” Mr B Eshwar Rao told Andaman Sheekha.
