BHUBANESWAR, Aug. 25 -- Two men found life rafts in the dark. Twenty-two of their crewmates did not, or have not yet been found, and as Monday wore into its second half in the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Coast Guard was pressing into its third consecutive day of open-water search with no word on what happened to the bulk carrier that carried them.

The MV Ocean Winner, a Panama-flagged vessel loaded with 72,100 tonnes of iron ore for China, sank on Saturday off the Odisha coast, southeast of Paradip port, sending a distress signal before it lost contact altogether. When coast guard teams reached the position, the ship was gone. Two survivors were pulled from life rafts; 22 crew members were not on them.

The 24 people aboard were: 20 Chines...