India, Aug. 23 -- A Panama-flagged cargo ship carrying 1,700 tonnes of iron ore sank around 240 nautical miles off the Odisha coast on Saturday, triggering a major search and rescue operation by the Indian Coast Guard and Navy.

The vessel, MV Ocean-Winner, had departed from Odisha's Paradip Port at around 10.30 pm on August 20 and was sailing towards Singapore, officials said.

There were 24 crew members aboard the ship, including 20 Chinese nationals, three from Myanmar and one Bangladeshi national.

Communication lost at sea

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in Sri Vijaya Puram received information at around 11.48 am on August 22 that communication with the vessel had been lost.

Following the alert, Indian authorities la...