One dead and nine rescued off the coast of Oman after oil tanker sank | Business news

Nine people from a 16-member crew of Indian and Sri Lankan nationals have been rescued, while the search for the others is ongoing.

Rescue workers have rescued nine crew members and recovered the body of another after their oil tanker sank in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Oman.

Search teams were dispatched to the tanker MT Prestige Falcon after it capsized late Monday evening about 25 nautical miles (46.3 km) off the Omani coast of Ras Madrakah, the Omani Maritime Safety Authority said on Wednesday. There were 13 Indian and three Sri Lankan nationals on board.

It was not immediately clear what caused the Comorian-flagged vessel to capsize, but the Indian Navy, which sent a warship to assist in search operations, said teams were battling rough seas and strong winds.

In a statement, the Indian Navy said eight Indian nationals were among those rescued and that Indian and Omani teams were continuing to search for the others.

It was said that a Navy long-range reconnaissance aircraft was helping in the search for six crew members who are still missing.

The Indian Navy has been operating continuously around the Arabian Sea since 2008 and has assisted in numerous rescue operations over the past year following an increase in piracy attacks in the region.

The 117-meter (384-foot) MT Prestige Falcon was launched in 2007 and was en route to the port city of Aden before it ran into trouble, shipping website VesselFinder reported.

In apparently unrelated incidents, Houthi rebels attacked two more oil tankers off the coast of neighboring Yemen on the same day, shooting them down with missiles and drones.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree identified the two ships as the Panamanian-flagged Bentley I and the Liberian-flagged Chios Lion.

The oil tanker Chios Lion is believed to have lost oil after a Houthi drone rammed its port side. According to the Conflict and Environment Observatory, the attack left a 220-kilometer-long oil slick along Yemen’s coast.

The Houthis have been attacking ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November. They say their campaign is intended to show their solidarity with the Palestinians in the face of Israel’s war against Gaza.

The attacks forced some of the world’s largest shipping companies to cease operations in the region and instead sent their ships on the longer route around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, leading to a decline in trade between Asia and Europe.