NEW DELHI, May 30 (Xinhua) -- A Singapore cargo ship, MV Ocean Saravan, sank off the Karwar coast, west coast of India early Tuesday after its hull hit rocks in the choppy Arabian sea, a top Indian Coast Guard official said.

    "While 21 of the 22-member crew were rescued in a seven-hour operation, one of them - second officer Azi Juvel - was washed away in the rough sea while he was getting into a life boat that was lowered to take the crew to the shore," Indo-Asian News Service quoted Indian Coast Guard deputy inspector general R.M. Sharma as saying.

    The 230-meter merchant vessel, weighing about 75,000 tons, was on way to the Karwar port late Monday to load manganese ore for export. As heavy rains and rough sea prevented the crew from sighting the lighthouse on the coast to reach the shore, the beleaguered crew tried to drop anchor in the mid-sea, about three nautical miles from the shore, the general said.

    The two-deck ship, however, started drifting in a different direction and ran aground after hitting the invisible rocks. Even as the ill-fated ship began to gradually sink, a distress call from the crew helped us in rushing the rescue teams from Panaji byone Chetak helicopter and six patrol boats, Sharma said.

    Reminiscent of the Titanic wreck, the crew first lost control of the Panama flagship and were left stranded after power went offand seawater started gushing into the lower deck.

    Of the rescued, 14 have been admitted to the Karwar port trust hospital and the others are being treated on board a ship of the Indian Navy. A majority of the crewmembers were Indians, mainly from the states of Karnataka, Maharashtra and Kerala. Enditem