Eight Indian sailors rescued as dhow capsizes off Oman coast

Muscat: Eight Indian sailors were rescued from their sinking dhow near the Seeb sea coast in Oman by the Royal Oman Police (ROP), which tweeted about the incident.
“All the eight sailors were rescued from their sinking dhow near Oman coast. All are in good health,” the ROP posted on its official Twitter account on Saturday afternoon.
The dhow was on its way to Somalia from Sharjah with goods, including electronic items.
“We noticed problem by around 3 pm on Friday. We informed the shipping agent and they alerted the ROP. As water started entering the dhow, we moved to our own rescue boat and waited for help,” Gaffar Siddique, the captain of the dhow, told the Times of Oman. “The rescue team came fast and we were saved. However, we couldn’t salvage the sinking dhow,” Gaffar added.
All the sailors hail from the western Indian state of Gujarat.
“Indian embassy officials are helping us to return to India. By tomorrow we may leave Oman if the papers are ready,” Gaffar added.
Last year in May, an Indian dhow had sunk off the Salalah coast. The news of capsizing boat was revealed by another dhow, which was headed to Salalah Port.
The ill-fated dhow, which sank, had 11 sailors on board. They were rescued by another dhow nearby.
Noore Garibe, the dhow which sank at 30 nautical miles off the Salalah coast, was on its way to Bossaso from Dubai.
The possible cause of sinking was water ingress through leakages in planking. No floating wreckage has been found on the site.
Meanwhile, in March, a cargo vessel bound for the United Arab Emirates with around 350 cattle on board had sunk off the south coast of Oman due to strong winds. The ship was on its way from Somalia when it sank off Sur in the province of A’Sharqiyah.