Six crew members from a cargo ship Ocean Star sailing from Pakistan to Somalia have been missing for the past 20 days after the ship sank on June 26.
In a tragic, yet amazing story, four crew members were picked up alive from the sea and brought to the UAE by a Sharjah ship after they spent 10 days adrift.
The six missing include four Indians, a Pakistani and a Somalia national.
The four who survived against all odds at sea, without food or water, are three Indians and a Somalia.
The Korean flagged Ocean Star, owned by a Dubai-based trading company, was carrying rice from Pakistan to Somalia.
The story came to light after Asianet Middle East, the Dubai-based TV channel heard about one of the survivors being treated in Khorfakkan.
“We found Charles Anthony undergoing treatment and he told us the horror story of how they spent 10 days at sea without food or drinking water. He was rescued by a Sharjah cargo ship, SAC Sharjah,” Satheesh Eriyalath, News Bureau Chief, Asianet Middle East, told this website.
All the survivors have since been repatriated to their home countries.
According to what Charles told the channel, the captain Jaspal Singh, who is also missing now, and his crew tried to sail in poor weather conditions.
The ship started on June 11, sank on June 26
“The captain had no choice but to abandon due to a heavy storm. Sea water entered the rice sacks, causing an imbalance, resulting in the ship sinking. We had to jump on a lifeboat, but the other six could not get on. They were shouting for help and support as the ship went down,” Asianet News quoted Charles, as saying.
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