Kerala declares Kochi shipwreck a state-specific disaster
The Kerala government on Thursday declared the wreckage of the Liberian-flagged container ship, which sank off the Kochi coast a state-specific disaster.
As interim relief, affected fishermen will be given Rs 1,000 and 6 kg of rice, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was quoted as saying by PTI.
The vessel, MSC ELSA-3, carrying 640 containers capsized on Sunday, about 15 nautical miles southwest of Alappuzha. It was carrying 13 containers with hazardous cargo and 12 of calcium carbide.
All 24 crew on board the vessel were rescued. The ship was on its way to Kochi from Vizhinjam, the defence ministry said.
The shipwreck poses a potentially serious threat to Kerala's coast environmentally, socially and economically, The Hindu quoted Tinku Biswal, principal secretary of the State Disaster Management Department as saying in a government order.
The incident raised environmental concerns, including the risk of oil spills and drifting debris along Kerala's 640-km coast, Biswal added.
The order permits the State Disaster Management Authority to mobilise resources, including personnel and significant sums of money from the State Disaster Response Fund for relief efforts.
So far, at least 54 containers have washed ashore: 43 in Kollam, nine in Thiruvananthapuram and two in Alappuzha.
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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
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Time of India
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- Time of India
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