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A Bangladeshi marine engineer has gone missing after a Panama-flagged cargo ship sank in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Odisha, India.
The missing engineer, Mohammad Abdullah Al Mamun, is from Satkhira Sadar in Bangladesh. His family has been unable to contact him since the incident and is anxiously awaiting updates from the authorities and his employer.
According to the Indian Coast Guard and international media reports, contact with the vessel, MV Ocean Winner, was lost on 22 August before it sank. The ship was carrying 24 crew members—20 Chinese, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi.
Two crew members have so far been rescued alive, both of them Chinese nationals. Search and rescue operations are continuing for the remaining 22 crew members, including Mamun.
Mamun’s family said they last spoke to him on Wednesday. He had joined the vessel in late April and was working as a marine engineer.
His elder brother, Abdullah Al Baki, said the family was devastated by the incident and urged the government to provide confirmed information about Mamun as soon as possible.
“We are completely broken. My mother is ill. Our only request to the government is to give us confirmed information about my brother as soon as possible,” he said.
Family members said Mamun’s mother has been suffering from heart disease for a long time and became ill after learning that her son was missing. His wife and children are also deeply worried.
His sister said the family had been unable to contact him for three days. “We do not know where he is or how he is. We just want to hear from him as soon as possible,” she said.
According to Indian media reports, MV Ocean Winner had departed Paradip Port in Odisha for Singapore carrying iron ore. The vessel was about 225 metres long and was carrying approximately 72,100 tonnes of iron ore.
The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre received information that contact with the vessel had been lost at around 11:48am on 22 August. A nearby commercial vessel, MT Isopos, was subsequently deployed to assist in the search, while Indian Coast Guard vessels Varad, Anmol and Vijit also joined the operation.
Two crew members were rescued from a life raft later that night. The Indian Navy and Coast Guard are conducting a joint air and sea search for the missing crew.
The cause of the sinking has not yet been established.
Mamun’s family has urged the Bangladesh government to coordinate with Indian authorities and intensify search and rescue efforts to locate the missing marine engineer.