Published: 20 Jul 2024 -
AFP
New Delhi: Three Indian Coast Guard ships were battling a major fire Saturday aboard a cargo vessel in the Arabian Sea after it picked up a distress call, the organisation said.
The vessel MV Maersk Frankfurt reported explosions on its front deck on Friday, 6.5 nautical miles (12 kilometres) south of Karwar while sailing from India's Gujarat state to Colombo in Sri Lanka.
"Ships Sujeet, Sachet and Samrat have been fighting the fire for over 12 hours, preventing its spread," the India Coast Guard said in a statement Saturday posted on social media platform X.
It posted images and videos showing the firefighting effort.
No casualties were reported from the merchant vessel.
The coast guard said a Donier aircraft was conducting aerial assessments and that an additional plane was also in position for search and rescue.
It said another ship was also despatched from Mumbai and likely to join the effort by Sunday.
The Indian Express newspaper reported the MV Maersk Frankfurt was carrying International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) cargo, quoting an unnamed coast guard spokesperson.
It said the firefighting operation was being carried out "amid rough seas and inclement weather conditions".
On Wednesday the Indian navy rescued nine crew members and recovered one body from the Comorian-flagged MV Prestige Falcon oil tanker that had capsized off the coast of Oman earlier this week.
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