Navy Deploys P8I Aircraft To Rescue 39 Onboard Chinese Ship That Sank In Indian Ocean

New Delhi: The Indian Navy sent a P-8I maritime patrol aircraft to assist in the search and rescue of a Chinese fishing vessel with 39 crew members onboard that went down in the Indian Ocean, news agency PTI reported. The P8I aircraft conducted multiple and extensive searches on Wednesday despite bad weather and found multiple objects that could belong to the sunken vessel, the Navy said. On May 17, Indian Navy deployed its air maritime reconnaissance assets in the Southern Indian Ocean Region approximately 900 nautical miles from India, as a humanitarian gesture in response to sinking of the Chinese fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028, it said. The crew consists of nationals from China, Indonesia and Philippines.

“As a demonstration of India’s commitment as a reliable and responsible partner for ensuring safety at sea, the Indian Navy units also coordinated search and rescue efforts with other units in the area and guided the PLA Navy warships heading to the scene of incident,” it said.

In a swift humanitarian action on 17 May #IndianNavy deployed its Air MR assets in the Southern IOR approx 900 Nm from India, in response to sinking of a #Chinese Fishing Vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028 with 39 crew onboard. The crew incl nationals from China, Indonesia & Philippines pic.twitter.com/gbcbh8DlSc — SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) May 18, 2023

The distant-water fishing vessel "Lupeng Yuanyu 028" of Shandong province's Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co Ltd capsized early Tuesday, news agency Reuters quoted state-run CCTV as saying. The 39 people on board - 17 Chinese crew members, 17 Indonesians, and five Filipinos, Reuters quoted CCTV as reporting. 

The accident had been reported to China's maritime search and rescue centre, and the foreign ministry had instructed its missions in Australia, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia, the Philippines, and other countries to coordinate search and rescue operations, according to the statement.

XI Jinping Orders All-Out Rescue Efforts

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out rescue efforts after a deep-sea Chinese fishing vessel capsized in the Indian Ocean, news agency ANI quoted CGTN as saying. Xi directed the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Chinese Ministry of Transport and Shandong Province to immediately activate the emergency response mechanism to verify the situation and deploy additional rescue forces, ANI quoted CGTN as reporting.

Xi also called for coordinating international maritime search and rescue assistance. He said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant embassies abroad should strengthen contact with relevant local parties to coordinate the search and rescue work, as per the news report. He also directed to strengthen early warning alerts of safety risk for distant area operations to ensure the safety of people.