The Indian Navy responded to a request from the Chinese Navy on Wednesday by offering assistance in the ongoing search for a Chinese fishing vessel that went down in the Indian Ocean.
The ship was reportedly carrying 39 people, including 17 Chinese crew members, 17 Indonesians, and five Filipinos. China requested assistance from several countries, including India, for the rescue operation of the capsized vessel, which has been stranded in the central Indian Ocean since Tuesday.
The Indian Navy said in a statement on Thursday that it had deployed its “Air MR assets” in the Southern Indian Ocean Region to rescue the sinking Chinese fishing vessel.
“P8I aircraft have carried out multiple & extensive searches despite adverse weather & located multiple objects possibly belonging to the sunken vessel. As an immediate response, SAR equipment was deployed at the scene by the Indian aircraft on request of PLA(N) ships closing the area,” the Indian Navy spokesperson tweeted.