The 184-metre-long container vessel MSC ELSA 3 had set out from the

Vizhinjam

port near Thiruvananthapuram on May 23 for Kochi, and was scheduled to dock there on May 24. However, on the afternoon of May 24 - around 38 nautical miles from its destination - the Liberian cargo ship carrying 643 containers began sending distress signals.
The

Indian Coast Guard

were able to rescue 21 crew members on May 24 itself, and when the vessel started capsizing,

Indian Navy

vessel

INS Sujatha

rescued the three remaining senior crew who had stayed behind.