Boats also sank in Jewani, a small coastal town near Makran.

The authorities asked fishermen to keep off the sea as it is gradually becoming rough.

AFP adds: A cyclone packing huge winds of up to 260 kilometres an hour advanced towards the Gulf state of Oman on Tuesday, posing a potential threat to the key route for oil exports from the energy-rich region.

Oman has evacuated about 7,000 people from coastal areas in the sultanate, where the weather service said Cyclone Gonu was expected to make landfall by early Wednesday.