16 crew including 13 Indians missing after oil tanker capsizes off Oman coast

Muscat: The 16-person crew of an oil tanker flying the Comorian flag went missing on Monday, according to the Maritime Security Centre (MSC) of the Sultanate. A search is currently underway for them. 

The cause of the capsize was not stated by the MSC, which is under the management of the Omani Defence Ministry. 

An oil tanker flying the flag of Comoros sank on Monday, around 25 nautical miles southeast of Ras Madrakah, close to the port town of Duqm, according to a post on the social media site X, AFP reported.

Search and rescue operations were "initiated with the relevant authorities," it added.

The ship, which the MSC identified as Prestige Falcon, had 16 crew members on board, 13 of whom were Indian and three of whom were Sri Lankan, according to a statement on Tuesday.

"The crew of the ship are still missing," it stated while the search continued. Ship tracking website marinetraffic.com states that the ship was bound for the Yemeni port city of Aden.