Centre’s response sought on plea to rescue seamen

A petition filed by Sahaya Vinoth of Puthenthurai, Kanyakumari came up for hearing before a division bench of justices N Kirubakaran and SS Sundar. The petitioner stated that seafarers, including Sebastin Britto, Breezlin, Sahayaraj and Aninash of Tamil Nadu, after completing BE were employed in a shipping company. On January 21, 2019, a fire broke out on the ship hauling LPG from Mumbai to Russia. The crew on board attempted to escape by jumping into the sea, but one of the Indians was found dead. The whereabouts of the remaining are still unknown.

The counsel, on behalf of Central government, said, the Indian External Affairs Ministry is in touch with its Russian counterpart to trace the missing crew.

Meanwhile, two Indian Coast Guard personnel appeared before the bench and said External Affairs Ministry officials should be able to take action in the case. On hearing the petition, the bench said if the authorities failed to respond in time, they would be summoned to appear before the court. The case was adjourned to February 25.