A Coast Guard official said, “Search and rescue operations are on for the crew who decided to abandon the ship.” Earlier, cyclone Nilam crossed the Tamil Nadu coast north of Chennai between Mamallapuram and Kalpak-kam with strong winds battering the area.

Lucky escape: Photographed through the window of an ambulance, a crewmember of the oil tanker ship Pratibha Cauvery receives treatment following his rescue. The tanker ran aground off the Chennai coast because of high winds before the landfall of Cyclone Nilam. Pic/AFP