The crew of a Comoros-flagged oil tanker that capsized off Oman are still missing, the country's maritime security centre said on Tuesday, a day after the sinking was reported.

 

The oil tanker capsized 25 NM southeast of Ras Madrakah.The 16-strong crew of "Prestige Falcon" comprised 13 Indian nationals and three Sri Lankans, the Omani centre said in a post on the social media platform X.

 

Separately, the centre told Reuters that the vessel remains "submerged, inverted". It did not confirm whether the vessel had stabilised or whether oil or oil products were leaking into the sea.

 

The vessel had been headed for the Yemeni port city of Aden, according to MarineTraffic, having departed from Dubai.

 

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.