India’s Coast Guard is continuous efforts to douse a fireplace on a Singapore-flagged cargo ship within the Arabian Sea close to the coast of the southern state of Kerala.
MV Wan Hai 503, which was heading to India’s Mumbai metropolis from Sri Lanka’s Colombo, reported an inside container explosion on Monday, leading to a significant fireplace on board.
Eighteen crew members have been rescued, whereas 4 are nonetheless lacking. Singapore has despatched a crew to help within the rescue efforts.
The Indian Nationwide Centre for Ocean Data Providers (INCOIS) has issued an alert for the coast of Kerala on account of potential oil spill and particles from the ship .
Footage on Tuesday confirmed MV Wan Hai 503 emitting massive plumes of smoke because the Indian Navy and Coast Guard tried to extinguish the hearth onboard.
The Coast Guard mentioned fires and explosions continued to be seen on the ship.
In a search and rescue operation carried out on Monday, 18 of the ship’s 22 crew members had been rescued and introduced ashore the place a few of them are being handled for accidents.
The crew members had deserted the ship when the hearth broke out and left on a ship after which they had been rescued by the Navy, India’s defence ministry mentioned.
The Singapore Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) mentioned 4 crew members are nonetheless lacking – two of them are from Taiwan, one from Myanmar and one from Indonesia. The MPA mentioned that it has despatched a crew to assist with the rescue.
Kerala Ports Minister VN Vasavan mentioned that fifty containers from the ship had fallen into the ocean.
The ship was carrying 100 tonnes of bunker oil, Mathrubhumi Information reported. Containers that fell from it had been drifting alongside the coast of Kerala, INCOIS told Manorama Information, and will drift in direction of its shoreline within the subsequent three days.
That is the second such incident in three weeks close to the Kerala coast. Last month, a Liberian-flagged vessel carrying oil and dangerous cargo leaked and sank within the Arabian Sea, sparking fears that dangerous substances may endanger the well being of residents and marine life.
The state authorities then banned fishing inside a 20-nautical mile radius of the shipwreck and introduced compensation for households from fishing communities in 4 affected districts.
Kerala’s coastal stretch is wealthy in biodiversity and the state can be an essential vacationer vacation spot.
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