Paradip: Four days after the Panama-flagged cargo vessel MV Ocean Winner sank in the Bay of Bengal off the Odisha coast, search teams have found a lifeboat bearing the ship's name, but there is still no trace of the vessel or 22 missing crew members.

The lifeboat was located during a joint search operation being carried out by the Indian Coast Guard's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) and the MRCC of China. However, no crew member was found inside the lifeboat.

Coast Guard vessel ICGS Varad has also located an emergency beacon, which was confirmed to be associated with the missing cargo vessel.

The vessel had left Paradip Port on the night of August 20 carrying around 1,700 tonnes of iron ore and was bound for Singapore. It was reported to have lost contact on August 22 while sailing around 240 nautical miles off the Odisha coast.

There were 24 crew members aboard the vessel, including 20 Chinese nationals, three Myanmar nationals and one Bangladeshi national. Two Chinese crew members were rescued from separate life rafts by the merchant vessel MT AISOPOS on August 22.

The remaining 22 crew members, however, have not been located so far. The cargo vessel itself has also not been found.

Following the distress alert, the Indian Navy deployed a P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft, while the Coast Guard deployed ICGS Varad, ICGS Anmol and ICGS Vijit. Other vessels operating in the area were also alerted and asked to assist in the search.