Haldia: Twenty-two crew members of an Indonesian cargo vessel which had run aground near the Sand Heads in Bay of Bengal, about 50 km from Haldia port, were on May 16 rescued by the Coast Guard, its commander, Commandant R K Wadhwa said.

The twenty-two crew members were lowered into lifeboats and rescued by two vessels, a tanker and a cargo, M V Vivekananda and M V Harsha, Commandant Wadhwa said.

The Indonesian vessel, Sigitika Biru, carrying 20,000 mt soda ash and 150 ton diesel, was on its way from Porbander to Chittagong in Bangladesh when the ship ran into rough weather following a cyclone in the Bay of Bengal and had sprung a leak, Wadhwa said.

The captain of the ship, Teguh Liman Supryanto, had contacted the Coast Guard for repair and was heading towards the Sand Heads as per instruction on May 15 evening.

PTI