India allows Azerbaijani crew members of the ship Mira to disembark - UPDATED

17:11

24 crew members of the Mira ship, which is detained in India, alighted at the shore, chief engineer of the ship Zahid Aliyev told APA.

He said the ship had filled with water for three days and they ran out of fuel.
“I immediately contacted the nearby port and they sent us 10 tones of fuel. We are pumping the water out of the ship. There is a lot of water in the engine area and the life of the crew is in danger. That’s why all of the crew members have been disembarked by boats,” he said. Aliyev said the ship will likely sink, if it does not approach the shore.

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12:52

“We could convince the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send a note to the territory where the ship drifted and to order to two the ship to the coast. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued written statement that it is not against the disembarking of the Azerbaijani citizens. It means that the government of India has no claims against our sailors, it has claims only against the ship owners”. Our embassy will assist the Azerbaijani citizens to return home, said Garayev.

Mira owned by the Turkish company was sold to the government of India by the bank to redeem debts. Later two owners of the ship appealed the court on the bank’s action. The Indian court proceeds case and the ship will be detained in the territorial waters of India until the court’s decision. There are eight Azerbaijani citizens on board.

/APA/