Tehran, June 2 (IANS) Iran's large navy ship Kharg caught fire and later sank Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported.

Following the spread of the fire on the vessel, the crew safely disembarked, the report said, adding that efforts to save the ship failed, the Xinhua news agency reported.

The support ship Kharg sank on Wednesday morning near the southern Iranian port of Jask on the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz.

The vessel has been used in training missions for more than four decades, said the report. It did not give details on the cause of the blaze.

--IANS int/rs