A massive fire erupted on a container cargo merchant vessel about 102 nautical miles south west of Goa on Friday. The vessel was on way from Gujarat’s Mundra to Sri Lankan capital Colombo, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said in a statement.
On receiving the information, the Indian Coast Guard diverted the ship to proceed to the distressed vessel with maximum speed. Also, a Dornier aircraft took off for aerial assessment.
According to the statement by Coast Guard, the ship is carrying Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) cargo and explosions have been occurring on front part of the merchant vessel.
The Indian Coast Guard ship arrived in the area and is carrying out fire-fighting operation despite rough sea and inclement weather conditions, the statement added.
The panic-stricken crew has been reassured of the safety by the Indian Coast Guard ship. As per the statement, two ICG ships sailed with dispatch from Goa to augment firefighting efforts.
ADA DERANA