A senior official with Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) says an Iranian cargo ship carrying construction materials and ceramic tiles has sunk off the Iraqi coast.

Nader Pasandeh, Director General of Maritime Safety and Protection of Ports in the PMO, said on Friday that the Behbahan, which had departed from Iran’s southwestern port of Khorramshahr on Tuesday and was on its way to Iraq’s Umm Qasr port, sank last night in the Khawr Abd Allah waterway between Iraq and Kuwait.

He added that of the seven crew members onboard, one has lost his life while four others have already been rescued.

Two members are also missing, one of whom is Iranian and another is an Indian national.

Pasandeh highlighted that a search and rescue operation is currently underway to rescue the missing crew.