10 days after Iran-Israel conflict tanker strike, Company admits Mumbai seafarer’s body still trapped onboard

The clarification, Solanki’s father told this newspaper, has deepened the anguish of the family, which says it had been repeatedly told since the day of the March 1 attack that the body had been recovered but could not be repatriated due to safety concerns.

Dixit, a Kandivali resident and an oiler aboard the ship, died when the Marshall Islands–flagged tanker was hit by what authorities believe was a projectile or drone boat about 52 nautical miles off Muscat, triggering an explosion and fire in the engine room.

Dixit Solanki

In the email accessed by The Indian Express, Captain Sadler Rebeiro, crewing operations manager at V. Ships India, said the explosion occurred at around 12.50 pm local time on March 1 while the tanker, carrying around 59,000 metric tonnes of gasoline, was sailing off Muscat. Dixit was working in the engine room when the projectile struck the vessel near the starboard quarter above the waterline.

“Immediately following the explosion, the Master requested a headcount of the crew in order to determine whether any crew members were missing or injured. Following extensive search efforts, Mr. Dixit A. Solanki was located in the engine room near the area of the hull breach. Tragically, he was identified as deceased by the Master due to the severe injuries he had sustained as a result of the explosion and resulting fire,” the email read.

The email said that the remaining 21 crew initially attempted to extinguish the fire using portable extinguishers and buckets of water, while attempting to access the engine room to recover Dixit, but conditions in the engine room were extremely dangerous and the blaze later reignited.

Amratlal Solanki, father of Dixit Solanki, speaks during an interview at his residence in Mumbai. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)

It further added, “In order to ensure the safety of the remaining crew members, the Master instructed the crew to abandon the vessel and board the lifeboats. Regrettably, despite the determined efforts of all those on board, it was not possible to recover Mr. Dixit A. Solanki’s body from the engine room before the crew were required to evacuate the vessel,” the email said.

The company admitted that the earlier information given to the family, that Dixit’s body had been recovered from the engine room and moved to the deck, was wrong.

“It was initially reported that Mr. Dixit A. Solanki’s body had been recovered from the engine room and moved to the vessel’s deck. However, following further clarification with the Master, it was confirmed that this was unfortunately not the case. Mr. Dixit A. Solanki’s body was not recovered from the engine room or moved to an open area on deck. Due to the rapidly evolving and dangerous situation on board, this important detail was initially relayed inaccurately.”

The email further justified, “The 21 crew members did everything within their power to reach Mr. Dixit A. Solanki as soon as it was understood that he had been working in the engine room at the time of the suspected projectile strike. Even after it became clear that he had sadly passed away, the crew continued their efforts to recover his body so that he could be returned home to his family.”

Amratlal Solanki, father of Dixit Solanki, speaks during an interview at his residence in Mumbai. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)

For Amratlal and his daughter Mitali, the admission has only intensified their distress. “It’s been 10 days since the attack. All these days we believed that the body had already been recovered and was lying on the ship’s deck awaiting permission from authorities for retrieval. It is shocking that they are admitting this only now,” Amratlal told The Indian Express.

“From the beginning we were told the body had been recovered and kept on deck. Now they are saying it was never taken out of the engine room,” he added.

In letters dated March 5 and March 8 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union ministers including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, the family had appealed for urgent intervention to ensure that Solanki’s body is brought back to India.

They said they have been unable to perform the last rites because the body remains onboard the damaged vessel.
Amratlal said he will not garland his son’s photograph or begin mourning rituals until the body, remains and Dixit’s belongings are brought home.

The email also stated that the remaining 21 crew members, comprising Indian, Bangladeshi and Ukrainian nationals, were eventually rescued by another vessel and taken to Muscat before returning to their home countries on March 4 and 5.

Since the evacuation, no personnel have been permitted to board the damaged tanker due to safety concerns, the company said. It added that recovering Dixit’s remains, remain a priority once the vessel is allowed to enter a port of refuge and it is deemed safe for personnel to board.