12 crew members of country-made vessel go missing off Okha coast

Both the vessels — Safina Hussain and Al Khwaja-A-Karam — had reportedly fallen victim to rough weather after low pressure developed over the Arabian Sea.

On its way to Salaya from Sharjah,the vessels capsized some 26 nautical miles north-west off the Okha coast in Jamnagar.

“Eleven members of Safina Hussain,which partially sank,have been rescued and search is still on for the crew of another vessel,” said Coast Guard district operation commander Manish Kumar,adding,“The Coast Guard team has been trying its best. But heavy rains and strong wind have made the work difficult.”

Adam Bhaya,president of Salaya Vessels Owners Association,said,“We are keeping our fingers crossed. Most of the crew members are from our town. The entire town has been praying for their safety.”

It was Bhaya who first received a message from one of the vessels about the mishap and immediately passed it on to the Coast Guard head quarters in Porbandar. He said both the vessels are registered at Salaya and had left for Gulf from Gujarat a month ago with various goods.

According to the Coast Guard reports,a total of three wooden vessels were caught in the rough weather. While one of them escaped,another sank partially and the third one drowned completely.

Meanwhile,danger signal number three has been hoisted on the Saurashtra coast for the third consecutive day,following heavy rains in the last 48 hours.