Indian Navy joins search-rescue ops for Chinese vessel that sank in Indian Ocean

The Indian Navy on Wednesday (May 17) deployed its P8I maritime patrol aircraft to help with the search and rescue of a Chinese fishing vessel with 39 crew members on board that sank in the Indian Ocean the day before.

The P8I aircraft carried out multiple and extensive searches on Wednesday despite adverse weather and located multiple objects possibly belonging to the sunken vessel, the Navy said in a tweet.

Navy tweets

In a swift humanitarian action on 17 May #IndianNavy deployed its Air MR assets in the Southern IOR approx 900 Nm from India, in response to sinking of a #Chinese Fishing Vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 with 39 crew onboard. The crew incl nationals from China, Indonesia & Philippines pic.twitter.com/gbcbh8DlSc

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) May 18, 2023

“In a swift humanitarian action on 17 May, Indian Navy deployed its Air MR assets in the Southern IOR approximately 900 Nm (nautical miles) from India, in response to the sinking of Chinese fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 with 39 crew on board. The crew included nationals from China, Indonesia and Philippines,” the Navy tweeted.

“The P8I aircraft have carried out multiple and extensive searches despite adverse weather and located multiple objects possibly belonging to the sunken vessel. As an immediate response, SAR equipment was deployed at the scene by the Indian aircraft on request of PLA(N) ships closing the area,” another tweet in the series read.

“In a display of India’s obligations as a credible and responsible partner for ensuring safety at sea, the Indian Navy units also coordinated SAR (search and rescue) efforts with other units in the area and guided PLA Navy warships transiting to the scene of incident,” went a third tweet.

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China acknowledges gesture

The vessel reportedly had 17 Chinese crew members, 17 Indonesians, and five Filipinos. China had earlier sought help from several countries, including India, for the rescue operation of the capsized vessel in the central region of the Indian Ocean.

China on Thursday (May 18) said Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Maldives, and the Philippines have extended emergency help to it in the search and rescue operations. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told the media in Beijing on Thursday that the search and rescue operation was still underway. He said the Chinese government “sincerely appreciates” the help from those countries.

No survivors yet

The Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, said on Thursday that the vessel had capsized within Australia’s search-and-rescue region. Australia has sent four aeroplanes and three ships to help with the rescue efforts.

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“We wish they could send more aircraft, more ships and more staff,” Xiao told reporters, referring to Australian authorities. “We wish that our Australian colleagues would coordinate with other international or foreign vessels or ships near that area to help the search and rescue to save as many lives as possible.”

A spokesperson for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), the search coordinator, told the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency on Thursday that based on drift modelling, a remote 12,000 sq km zone had been identified to search for the vessel.

The AMSA said the upturned hull was spotted on Tuesday from a cargo ship 5,000 km northwest of the Australian west coast city of Perth. No survivors or life rafts have been spotted yet.

(With agency inputs)