A portion of a Bangladesh-bound cargo vessel carrying fly ash collided with another ship and has sunk in Hooghly river, an IWAI official said on Saturday.

The incident took place at Nischintapur in South 24 Parganas district about 60 km from here in the early hours of the day.

Nine crew members were rescued after senior police officers rushed to the spot on getting information.

They were later brought to the police station, police said.

A representative of the vessel said a portion of the ship had sunk and water had seeped into the engine room.

The ship can, however, still be salvaged, he said.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) official said the movement of ships to and from the Kolkata port will not be affected as the cargo vessel is not in the navigational channel.

An inspection team has been sent to the site and a detailed report is awaited, he said.

Talks are underway to repatriate the rescued sailors, officials said.

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