A United Arab Emirates cargo ship carrying cars has capsized off the coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf, authorities have said.

Dubai-based Salem Al Makrani Cargo Company confirmed it was one of its vessels and that Iranian authorities had sent a vessel to rescue the 30 crew members.

Captain Nizar Qaddoura, the firm’s operations manager, said 16 crew members were rescued, another 11 survivors made it into life rafts, two crew members were still in the water, while one person was plucked and saved by a nearby tanker.

The Al Salmy 6 encountered bad weather on Thursday, the company said. The choppy waters forced the boat to capsize.

The crew consisted of nationals from Sudan, India, Pakistan, Uganda, Tanzania and Ethiopia.

The ship had left Dubai days earlier, bound for the port of Umm Qasr, in southern Iraq, carrying cars and other cargo.

The vessel capsized around 30 miles (50km) off the coast of Asaluyeh, in southern Iran, the state-run IRNA news agency reported, adding that the search and rescue operation was impacted by the stormy weather but was continuing.

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