Twelve crew members went missing after a lighterage vessel, carrying 1,050 metric tonnes of coal, sank in the Bay of Bengal near the Sangu gas field on Thursday morning.

The engine of Dhaka-bound ‘Hira Parbat-8’ went out of order when it was near the Sangu gas field, said Lieutenant Commander Saiful Islam, director (operation) of Coast Guard east zone.

Later, a crack was developed in the vessel and it eventually sank. Twelve crew members had been missing since then.

A Coast Guard was on its way to the site.

No other details were immediately available.