New Delhi, April 22: A missile boat of the Indian Navy sank in the Arabian Sea last night, two-and-a-half hours after colliding with a merchant vessel off the coast of Goa.

The crew of 71 was rescued and evacuated to Goa.

Naval headquarters sources said the missile corvette INS Prahar ran into the merchant vessel Rajiv Gandhi, a container carrier of the Shipping Corporation of India coming from the opposite direction, around 9.45.

The Prahar was a much smaller ship.

The boat remained on the surface for over 120 minutes, fortunately for the crew who could ensure their SOS had been read, and sank gradually as water flooded it.

There was little damage to the merchant ship, which has anchored off Goa.