President Rouhani Offers Condolences over Deaths of Iranian Seafarers

In a message on Sunday, Rouhani said the heartbreaking incident for the Iranian oil tanker in Eastern China waters, which killed all its crew members and personnel, saddened the entire Iranian nation.

He offered his sincere sympathy, and condoled with the great nation of Iran, particularly the bereaved families of the victims, from the bottom of his heart.

The Iranian president wished patience and health for the survivors, and peace for the innocent victims, who were key to the Iranian economy and national might.

“It is now necessary to focus all efforts on identifying the bodies of the victims and decrease the pains of their bereaved families,” he added.

He at the same time urged all relevant bodies, including the ministries of Roads and Urban Development, Petroleum, and Foreign Affairs, to probe into the tragic incident and legally pursue the issue to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents.

Iranian oil tanker Sanchi caught fire last Saturday night after it collided with the CF Crystal, a Hong Kong-registered bulk freighter carrying wheat from the US, about 160 nautical miles east of the Yangtze estuary.

Despite efforts by rescue teams during the past week, only three bodies were recovered from the ship, and the fate of the remaining sailors remained unclear. Those efforts were hampered because of the scale of the fire and heat.

The vessel finally fully sank on Sunday, January 14, and all hopes for finding the missing people faded.

Available evidence indicates that all crew members died soon after it collided with another vessel and a powerful blast ensued.

Mohammad Rastad, a spokesman for the Special Task Force established over the incident, said on Saturday that there was no hope to find the crew members alive.

Thirty two crew members were on board, comprising 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis.

The list of their names and occupations follows:

1- Majid Ghassabi Orouji – Captain

2- Farid Mohebbi – Chief Engineer

3- Majid Naqiyan – First Officer

4- Hossein Jahani Helabad – Second Officer

5- Ehsan Aboli Qassem-Abadi – Second Officer

6- Milad Enayati – Third Officer

7- Hamed Bahari – Second Engineer

8- Mohammad-Reza Rezazadeh Masouleh – Third Engineer

9- Mahdi Sadegi – Third Engineer

10- Hassan Roumiani – Fourth Engineer

11- Mohammad Kavousi Takab – Procurement Officer

12- Bahram Ettehad – Electricity Officer

13- Abdolghani Sameri – Chief Sailor

14- Abouzar Nezami – Assitant Chief Sailor

15- Seyyed Javad Heydari – First Sailor

16- Mohammad Sajeb Ali-Miridha – First Sailor

17- Mohammad-Haroun Rashid – First Sailor

18- Alireza Najafifar – Second Sailor

19- Ali Heydariyeh Kohan – Second Sailor

20- Bahram Pouryani – Mechanic

21- Yavar Afshari – Lube Technician

22- Milad Arvi – Lube Technician

23- Moslem Alizadeh Nodehi – Lube Technician

24- Abdolkarim Besharatipour – Chef

25- Omid Ziyaei – Assistant Chef

26- Ayyub Mozaffari Abdgah – Attendant

27- Ehsan Faraji – Attendant

28- Saeid Dehqani – Apprentice

29- Pourya Eydipour – Apprentice

30- Sajjad Abdollahi – Apprentice

31- Mohammad Piryaei – Apprentice

32- Saghi Fa’al – Wife of Hossein Jahani Helabad