13 Indians, 3 Sri Lankans missing after oil tanker capsizes off Oman; Indian Navy deploys INS Teg for search op

The 16-member crew, including 13 Indians and three Sri Lankans, of a Comoros-flagged oil tanker went missing after it capsized off the coast of Oman on Monday, said the sultanate's Maritime Security Centre (MSC). This comes a day after the sinking was reported.

Speaking to Reuters, the centre said the vessel remains “submerged”, and “inverted”. It did not confirm whether the vessel had stabilised or oil or oil products were leaking into the sea.

The oil tanker was heading to the Yemeni port of Aden and capsized off Oman's major industrial port of Duqm, according to shipping data collected by LSEG.

The shipping data showed that the vessel is a 117-metre-long oil products tanker built in 2007. Such small tankers are typically used for short coastal voyages.

Following this, Omani authorities started a search and rescue operation at the scene in coordination with maritime officials, said Oman's state news agency as quoted by Reuters.

Indian Navy’s warship INS Teg has also been deployed along with maritime surveillance aircraft P-8I along with the Omani vessels and personnel to carry out search and rescue missions after a Comoros-flagged vessel with its crew, including 13 Indians, capsized.

The port of Duqm, situated on Oman's southwest coast, is near the sultanate's significant oil and gas extraction sites. This includes a major oil refinery that is part of Duqm's extensive industrial zone, the largest economic project in Oman.

Oman mosque attack

In a separate incident, one Indian national died and another injured in a shooting near a Shiite mosque in Muscat on Monday, the Indian Embassy in Oman said.

Nine people, including three attackers, were killed in an assault on a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Oman. As many as 28 people, including security personnel, were also injured in the incident. Reuters reported that four Pakistani nationals were among those killed.

The attack came as Shi'ite Muslims observed Ashura, an annual period of mourning to commemorate the 7th-century death of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Mohammad.

Oman has a population of more than four million, of whom upwards of 40 percent are expat workers, mostly from south Asia, according to government figures.

(With Reuters inputs)