India Coast Guard battles fires as crew rescued from burning vessel off Kerala coast
The Indian Navy's INS Surat safely disembarked all 18 crew members from a Singapore-flagged container ship that caught fire on June 9. Coordinated firefighting efforts continued overnight after the maritime incident occurred off the coast of Kerala, PTI reported citing officials.
'Fires & explosions persist from mid‑ships to the container bay ahead of the accommodation block. Forward‑bay fire is now under control, though thick smoke remains. Vessel is listing approx 10–15° to port. More containers reported overboard,' ICG said.
India Coast Guard ships Samudra Prahari & Sachet are conducting fire-fighting operations & boundary cooling. ICG Ship Samarth, along with salvors being deployed from Kochi, said the ICG, as reported by ANI.
The crew were disembarked at Mangalore Port at 11.30 pm on Monday. Indian Coast Guard ships Sachet and Samudra Prahari remained engaged in firefighting efforts overnight, a Defence spokesperson said.
A Coast Guard Dornier aircraft took off on Tuesday morning to conduct an aerial survey of the incident site, the spokesperson added. Meanwhile, Coast Guard vessel Samarth is set to sail out, carrying a salvage master to the location of the incident.
Port workers described emotional scenes as the injured disembarked — some helped by fellow crewmates, others in stretchers, whispering prayers of gratitude or anxiously inquiring about their missing colleagues.
According to the Indian Navy, the vessel was carrying 22 crew members, including eight Chinese, six Taiwanese, five Myanmarese, and three Indonesian nationals. Following the explosion and escalation of the fire, the crew abandoned the ship.
"18 crew members have been rescued, while four remain missing. A search and rescue operation is currently underway," it said.
The MV had reported an internal container explosion and a resultant major fire onboard. The incident occurred at around 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal, Kerala and 130 nautical miles northwest of Kochi.
According to a release, preliminary reports suggest that 10-15 containers have fallen overboard. The vessel was en route from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Nhava Sheva, Mumbai, with an expected time of arrival (ETA) on 10 June.
(This is a developing story)
(With inputs from agencies)
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