Chinese fishing vessel sinks in Indian Ocean; India Navy deploys P8I aircraft to help search operation

New Delhi, May 18 (PTI) The Indian Navy deployed a P-8I maritime patrol aircraft to help in the search and rescue of a Chinese fishing vessel with 39 crew members onboard that sank in the Indian Ocean.

The P8I aircraft carried out multiple and extensive searches on Wednesday despite adverse weather and located multiple objects possibly belonging to the sunken vessel, the Navy said.

In a swift humanitarian action on May 17, Indian Navy deployed its air maritime reconnaissance assets in the Southern Indian Ocean Region approximately 900 nautical miles from India, in response to sinking of the Chinese fishing vessel Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028, it said.

The crew includes nationals from China, Indonesia and Philippines.

“In a display of India’s obligations as a credible 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 transiting to the scene of incident,” it said.