On June 14, a cargo vessel caught fire at around 55 nautical miles while it was approaching Kolkata.
What happened?
The cargo vessel ‘MV SSL Kolkata’ caught fire at mid-sea, around 55 nautical miles away from Sand Heads near Bengal’s Haldia.
The vessel was enroute from Krishnapatnam to Kolkata with twenty two crew members onboard the vessel when the incident occurred.
Rescue operations in full swing
The Indian Coast Guard officials were dispatched to the scene of the incident and were able to rescue 11 out of the 22 crew members. The turbulent weather conditions caused a delay in the rescue operations and the remaining crew members were subsequently rescued.
The rescued crew members were taken to Haldia, where their condition is said to be stable.
Ship on fire
The coast guard ship, Rajkiran, from Haldia and a Dornier aircraft were pressed into action to survey the ship and it was discovered that nearly 70% of the ship was on fire and the captain of the ship, along with others, decided to leave in an inflated rubber boat.
Eastern Command spokesperson, Wing Commander S.S. Birdi, said: “The fire on board was of such magnitude that the naval air assets from Visakhapatnam had to be launched in the morning in coordination with the Coast Guard. One Sea King 42C helicopter was also launched from Visakhapatnam to assist the search and rescue operation.”
Investigation initiated
An investigation has been initiated to determine the cause of fire as the cause remains unknown. The crew members conveyed that there was an explosion near the deck, after which one of the containers caught fire.
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Source: News18.com
