6 Indians among sailors killed in Kerch Strait mishap

At least six of the sailors killed in the shipping accident in Kerch Strait have been identified as Indian citizens.

Six other Indian sailors, who were also on board the ill-fated fuel ships Maestro and Venice (also known as Candy), are still missing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Four other sailors from India were rescued since Monday, when the two Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) tankers caught fire during a ship-to ship fuel transfer in Kerch Strait that links the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

The MEA stated in New Delhi that six Indian sailors, Pinal Kumar Bharatbhai Tandel, Vikram Singh, Sarvanan Nagarajan, Vishal Dod, Raja Debnarayan Panigrahi and Karankumar Haribhai Tandel, were killed after the transfer went wrong and both the ships caught fire.

Only Karankumar Haribhai was deployed on Venice (Candy), while the five other deceased sailors were onboard Maestro, when the mishap took place.

The missing sailors of Maestro and Venice included Siddharth Meher, Neeraj Singh, Sebastian Britto Breezlin Sahayaraj, Anandasekar Avinash, Rushikesh Raju Sakpal and Akshay Baban Jadhav.

Harish Jogi, Sachin Singh, Ashish Ashok Nair and Kamleshbhai Gopalbhai Tandel were rescued from the two ships.

Updates awaited

“Russian Maritime Agency and Maritime Rescue and Coordination Centre Novorossiysk are continuing efforts to locate the missing sailors. Any updates will be conveyed as soon as additional information is received from the Russian side,” Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said.

The MEA said that arrangements were being made after completion of necessary formalities to bring back the bodies of the deceased to India. “The repatriation of the other sailors is also being facilitated through Director General Communication Center, Indian Registry of Shipping, Mumbai,” it stated.