Fire breaks out on ship after explosion, Indian coastguard says

Euronews

11 hours ago

An explosion and subsequent fire were reported onboard a Singapore-flagged container ship off the coast of Kerala in southern India on Monday, a spokesperson for the Indian Coastguard said.
Of the 22 crew members onboard the MV Wan Hai 503, 18 abandoned the vessel with assistance from the Indian Navy and coastguard while four are missing, Commandant Amit Uniyal said in a statement.
One of the rescued crew members sustained serious injuries.
Two of the four missing are nationals of Taiwan, one is from Indonesia and one from Myanmar, Uniyal said.
The navy and coastguard have launched a search operation for the missing, aided by a Dornier aircraft.
The navy uses Dornier aircraft primarily for maritime surveillance, search and rescue operations.
A number of ships have also been sent to help put out the fire some 88 nautical miles (162 km) from the coast of Beypore in Kerala.
"The vessel is presently adrift, and firefighting efforts have commenced to bring the situation under control," said Uniyal.
"Saving lives of the crew in distress, firefighting and mitigating environment hazard remains the priority for coastguard."
He said they were working to establish the details of the ship's cargo and any potential risks it could cause.
The 271-metre vessel left the Sri Lankan port of Colombo on 7 June and was set to arrive in Mumbai on Monday.
The coastguard received a distress alert from the ship Monday morning reporting an explosion and subsequent fire inside one of the containers onboard.
The fire later spread to other containers.
The coastguard has not yet given the cause of the explosion and fire.
The vessel is managed by Singapore-based Wan Hai Lines, according to a statement from Singaporean authorities.
Late last month, a Liberia-flagged container ship sailing between the Indian ports of Vizinjam and Kochi sank off Kerala.
The state government issued a high alert in its coastal areas and asked fishermen not to venture near the site where the container ship, which carried hazardous cargo, had sunk.
Ukraine and Russia have started a new prisoner of war exchange, following the agreement reached at the second round of direct talks in Istanbul last Monday.
"Ukrainians are coming home from Russian captivity," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement.
"Today the exchange began and will continue in several stages over the coming days. Among those being returned now are wounded and severely wounded prisoners, as well as those under 25," Zelenskyy added.
Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed the return of the first group of Russian POWs as well, without providing details on the swapped soldiers.
Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said that the first group of released prisoners includes personnel from Ukraine's navy, ground forces, air force, national guard, border guard service, territorial defence, and special transport service.
Among those returned on Monday are the defenders of Mariupol, who have spent over three years in Russian captivity.
"Most of those returned were captured in the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022," Ukraine's ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
"We warmly welcome all who can now breathe the air of their homeland after years of captivity," Lubinets added. "Our team shares in the joy of the families who received that precious and long-awaited call."
Kyiv didn't disclose the total number of POWs returned on Monday, citing security reasons.
A few days ago, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine wanted to bring home 500 prisoners in the POW swap on Saturday and Sunday, which ultimately did not take place.
Kyiv and Moscow agreed that the exchange would include young soldiers under 25 years old, the severely wounded and the seriously ill. The sides have also agreed to exchange the bodies of the fallen servicepeople.
On Sunday, Russia accused Ukraine of postponing the swap and failing to respect the agreement.
Moscow said that the trains carrying the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were due to depart towards the Ukrainian border, accusing Kyiv of "not collecting them".
Russia's Lieutenant General Aleksandr Zorin told the state-run TASS news agency the transfer of 'more than 6,000 (Ukrainian) bodies' had been agreed during the talks in Turkey.
Kyiv categorically denied the accusations. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian Defenсe Intelligence, said that Ukraine was strictly adhering to the agreements reached at the second round of talks in Istanbul.
Budanov stated that the start of "repatriation measures" was scheduled to take place next week, which he claims the Russian side informed him of a few days ago.
In his Sunday address, Zelenskyy accused Russia of "playing a dirty political and information game" on the agreed POW exchange.
Kyiv says it has brought back over 5,000 prisoners of war in a series of exchanges since March.
Ukraine continues to offer Russia an "all-for-all" swap — a proposal Moscow has so far rejected.