KARACHI, July 24: Maritime agencies have spotted wreckage of a 120-feet cargo vessel 40 nautical miles from Karachi without a crew. It is feared that the crew might have drowned. A decomposed body, believed to be a member of the same vessel's crew, washed ashore at Sonara beach on Saturday. It was taken first to the city government's Rescue Centre at Hawkesbay and then to civil hospital for autopsy examination.

The ill-fated vessel, Qadeerur Rehman, with a nine-member crew and carrying iron scrap, had left Dubai for Karachi on July 12.

The shipping agency, Noor Sons, which handled the vessel's operation, said that the crew had remained in touch with it till July 15 but since then all efforts to establish contact had failed.

Commander Nadeem Tahir of the Maritime Security Agency (MSA) told Dawn on Saturday that the MSA and navy had started a search for the vessel when its owner informed the ship had gone missing.

During the search, its wreckage was located but no crew member was found, alive or dead, he said.

A spokesman for the shipping agent said that two search boats with five divers had been sent to the spot.

The missing crew members have been identified as Mohammad Anwer, Usman Ghani, Jan Mohammad, Mohammad Ishaq, Ali Mohammad, Ghulam Rasool, Abdullah, Illahi Bux and Illahi Bux Usman, the last two being residents of Abdul Rahim Goth, Hawkesbay.