TEHRAN, Jan. 28 (MNA) – The bodies of three of Iranian crew of the Sanchi, which caught fire after a collision on Jan. 6, have been identified, and the black boxes belonging to the two vessels have been handed over to Iran.

Deputy Managing Director of Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization for Maritime Affairs, Hadi Haghshenas, told Mehr News correspondent Saturday night that the three crew members identified are Milad Aravi, Majid Naghian and Mohammad Kavousi, all Iranians.

He said that the National Iranian Tanker Company will be in charge of transferring the bodies back to Iran in less than a week.

Meanwhile, the black boxes for the Sanchi and the CF Crystal have been opened, and handed over to the Iranian Ports and Maritime Organization for Maritime Affairs for further investigation of the causes for the collision.

The Iranian, Panama-registered Sanchi collided with the CF Crystal of Hong Kong about 160 nautical miles off the coast of China near Shanghai on January 6. The tanker was sailing from Iran to South Korea, carrying 136,000 tons of condensate.

The Sanchi sank on Jan. 14 after burning for several days. The entire 32 crew, including 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, are presumed dead.

On Thursday, the maritime authorities of Iran, China, Panama, and Hong Kong signed an agreement to jointly investigate the collision.

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