15 Indians rescued, 11 missing after ship sinks off Japan

Fifteen Indians were rescued while 11 others were still missing after a cargo ship sank off the coast of southwestern Japan on Friday, the Indian External Affairs Ministry said.

"Fifteen Indians rescued, search on for missing 11 following sinking of a ship off Okinawa. Our Missions in Japan, Philippines & China on the job," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Ravish Kumar tweeted.

He also listed out the names of those rescued: Suresh Kumar, Alang Ram, Karuppiah Rangasamy, Subash Lourdusamy, Bosun Mohammad Irfan Mansuri, Sathishi, Ram Kailash, Lai Renjith, Kigin, Jegal Sen Vendran, Cheole, Ramay, Karthikayan and two others both named Parash.

Kumar further said that the name of one of the two named Parash was being further checked.

According to reports, the Hong Kong-registered cargo ship sank some 600 km south of Ishigaki island of Okinawa prefecture.

Japan's 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters based in Naha, Okinawa, said earlier that it received an emergency call from the 33,205-tonne Emerald Star around 2 a.m. local time (1700 GMT Thursday) on Friday.

The Japan Coast Guard said it had dispatched patrol boats and aircraft to rescue the missing crew, but the operations were hampered by a raging typhoon.

--IANS

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