An
Indian Navy patrol vessel sank off the coast of Goa after a collision with a merchant carrier, an official release said in New Delhi on Saturday.
INS Prahar, a 450 ton vessel, sank just after midnight following a collision with the MV Rajiv Gandhi, a container carrier of the Shipping Corporation of India, 35 km west of Goa, it said.
The collision occurred at about 21:45 hours on Friday night, the release said, adding damage to the merchant carrier was minimal and she had been anchored off the coast.
Seventy-three crew members of the naval ship have been rescued.
Six naval and two coast guard ships, one Dornier aircraft, two naval helicopters and merchant vessels have been deployed for search and rescue operations.
The cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained and a board of enquiry has been ordered to investigate into it, the release said.
Source: Press Trust of India