Most Indian crew safe in Russian ship-wreck: Claims DGS
Mumbai, Jan 22: A good number of the 15 Indian seafarers who are on-board the two ill-fated ships which caught fire off the Russian waters Monday have survived the accident, officials at the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) here said Tuesday.
But the exact details, including the number of those who have made it, are not immediately available as information flow from the site is very limited, they explained.
The 15 sailors hail from different parts of the country but more details of them are awaited.
According to media reports, 14 sailors have died in the blaze on the two Tanzanian flagged vessels, but the nationalities of the victims are yet to be established.
A senior DGS official told PTI that dozens of vessels are looking for survivors in the vicinity of the accident site--the Kerch Strait separating the Crimea from Russia--and wreckage is very scattered.
"Some of our sailors have contacted their families back home about making it, while a few have been rescued after they jumped out of the blazing ships," the official said, declining to give an exact number.
The DGS has given a list containing all the details of the 15 Indian sailors who are on board these ships, when they caught fire while transferring fuel Monday.
The DGS is in touch with both the foreign ministry in New Delhi, which is coordinating with the embassy in Moscow, while the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre is in touch with its Russian counterparts, the official said.
The two ships have Indian, Turkish and Libyan crew and caught fire in the Kerch Strait that separates the Crimea from Russia, killing at least 14 sailors Monday, according to international media reports.
Both the vessels are Tanzanian flagged, and one of is an LNG carrier, the other is an oil tanker.
One of the ships, the Candy, has a 17-member crew, including nine Turks and eight Indians, while the other, the Maestro, is powered by a 15-member crew, including seven each Indian and Turkish nationals and an intern from Libya, Russian news agency Tass quoted maritime authority as saying.
Fourteen people were killed in the accident, while 12 have been rescued, Sergei Aksyonov, an official of Crimean administration told reporters Tuesday adding while six are still missing.
The Kerch Strait is a key waterway that holds strategic importance for both Russia and Ukraine. It is an economic lifeline for Ukraine that allows ships leaving the port city of Mariupol to access the Black Sea.
It is also the closest access point for Russia to the Crimea, a peninsula Moscow annexed in 2014. A Russian-built bridge over the Kerch Strait was opened last May.
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UP: Fake IAS officer marries woman, flees with Rs 15 lakh dowry
Gorakhpur (UP) (PTI): A newly married man fled with the Rs 15 lakh given to him as dowry by the bride's family, and it came to light later that he was an alleged serial scammer, police said on Sunday.
The accused, identified as Pritam Kumar Nishad from Etawah, allegedly posed as an IAS officer to deceive the woman into marrying him. He is currently absconding with his sister, and a case has been filed against him for cheating, dowry harassment, and forgery, officials said.
According to the police, the woman's family claimed that they spent nearly Rs 30 lakh for the wedding that was solemnised on March 11.
The match was arranged through a matrimonial group, where the accused introduced himself as an IAS officer, sharing purported interview clips, office visuals, and photographs with politicians to gain the family's trust.
Despite initially claiming he would marry without dowry, the accused allegedly demanded Rs 15 lakh shortly before the engagement. The bride's family paid Rs 10 lakh in cash during the engagement and the remaining Rs 5 lakh on the wedding day, the police said.
The fraud came to light on Saturday after the woman reached Etawah, and a wedding attendee informed the family that the accused was not a civil servant. When her relatives visited the address provided by him, they found her in a small rented room, while the accused and his sister had fled, the police added.
The woman has also alleged that the accused planned to take her to Goa and sell her, and accused him of inappropriate behaviour.
The police suspect that the accused may have been involved in multiple such marriages in the past. Based on a complaint lodged at the cantonment police station, an FIR was registered on Saturday evening.
Senior Superintendent of Police Dr Kaustubh said efforts are underway to arrest the accused.
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