Indian coastguard battles blaze on container ship

NEW DELHI: India´s coastguard said on Tuesday it was battling to stop a fierce blaze that has engulfed a Singapore-flagged container ship listing off the country´s southern coast.

The 268-metre container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 carrying 22 crew members caught fire some 78 nautical miles off India´s Beypore port on Monday. Eighteen crew members were rescued by the Indian coastguard and navy, with four still missing, according to Singapore´s Maritime and Port Authority.

China´s Xinhua state news agency reported, citing its embassy in India, that two of the missing people were from Taiwan. Indian Coast Guard said Tuesday that “fires and explosions persist” on the vessel, which was tilting at around “10-15 degrees”.

They issued photographs that showed flames leaping from the stacked containers, with the ship surrounded by thick plumes of billowing black smoke. Initial images on Monday showed heavy containers that had seemingly been hurled up by a powerful explosion on board, with the coastguard saying that some were in the water.

Singapore´s Maritime and Port Authority had said there were “some injuries” among the crew. Coastguard vessels alongside the blackened and burning ship poured jets of water onto the flames, video footage showed.

The MV Wan Hai 503 container ship is the second to run into trouble off India´s southern coast within weeks. A Liberian-flagged container ship with hazardous cargo sank off the coast of Kerala on May 24. The Indian navy rescued all 24 crew members.