Search for missing cargo carrier still on

Search for missing cargo carrier still on

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangalore, Nov 29, 2011: All efforts made by the Coast Guard and the Indian Navy to find and rescue MS Akthar, the cargo vessel that went missing along with a crew of six in the cyclone-hit sea of Lakshadweep, have failed.

The Indian Navy has halted its rescue operations, but the Coast Guard is still going on with its search.

The cargo carrier went missing on Sunday morning. Speaking about the search operations, the Navy officials said that they had used Dornier aircraft in their search operations, but they had to halt operation because they have not got any information regarding the vessel for hours. The Navy, however, expressed its willingness to continue its search operation if the administration of Lakshadweep sought assistance once again.

Cargo carrier MSV Al-Akhtar
The vessel left Bunder Port on Thursday and has been reported missing from 6:00 a.m. Sunday. The Coast Guard has made several futile attempts to save the ship and its crew. The owner of the cargo vessel is afraid that the crew must have perished at sea.

The crew comprised Shankar (58) of Kerala, Ameen (36), Ahmed Ismail (27), Salim Ali (43), Mohsin (27), and Altaf Sahi Mohammed (29). The port lost contact with the ship long back.

The cargo carrier was taking food and construction equipment to Lakshadweep.

Abdul Tauseef, the owner of the cargo vessel, told reporters that the ship left for Lakshadweep at 4:30 a.m. on Nov 24 and reached Hamena in Lakshadweep on Friday at 1:30 p.m. On Nov 26, part of the cargo was unloaded. On Nov 27 Sunday, Shankar, the captain of the ship, contacted Tauseef at 4:00 a.m. to inform him that the ship was in difficulties because of the cyclone and that its engine has broken down.

Shankar had also informed that the crew had donned their life jackets and were in immediate need of help. Although a number of rescue boats were sent to the spot, the ship and its crew have disappeared.

The cargo carrier was worth Rs. 30 lakh and was carrying goods worth Rs. 15 lakh to Lakshadweep.