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12 Men in a Life Raft Rescued

DUBAI — Twelve starving sailors adrift in the open sea off the coast of Khorfakkan may have got a new lease of life after they were rescued on Saturday evening. But their ordeal didn’t end on Sunday as they spent a second day out in the open, only this time on land.

The men were found drifting in the Gulf of Oman, crammed into a life-raft after their vessel the I.V.Y Queen took in water and went under.

Crew aboard the vessel Sea King who heard the SOS sent out by the distressed ship, said the adrift sailors were rescued two hours after floating in the sea.

“They are lucky to survive after their ship sunk at 20:20 hours last evening. There were seven Bangladeshis and five Indians on the boat,’’ said the Pakistani captain of the Sea King, Shafiq uz-Zaman.

‘‘They were in a state of shock and we have handed them over to immigration authorities at Khorfakkan port,’’ according to the captain. The rescue vessel belongs to FAL Shipping Company based in Sharjah.

Coast Guard officials in Sharjah confirmed the incident and said the sailors were brought to shore, but gave no additional details.

But police sources in Khorfakkan said the rescued men did not have any papers on them and that they were being treated well. They added that they were investigating the incident.

allan@khaleejtimes.com

• UAE