Singapore vessel catches fire off Kerala coast, rescue ops on

Smoke billows from Singapore-flagged container vessel. Pic/PTI

A fire was reported on board a Singapore-flagged container ship off the coast of Kerala on Monday, and the crew was being rescued, a Defence PRO said. The 270-metre-long vessel was en route to Mumbai. Of the 22 crew members on board the ship, 18 abandoned the vessel and are being rescued by Indian Navy and Coast Guard assets, he said.

"Vessel is presently on fire and adrift," the PRO said. Defence sources said the Indian Coast Guard ships Sachet, Arnvesh, Samudra Prahari, Abhinav, Rajdoot, and C-144 were involved in the ongoing rescue operation. The underdeck fire was first reported at around 10.30 am by the Maritime Operations Centre in Mumbai to their counterparts in Kochi.

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