Fires, explosions persist aboard ship off Kerala coast; 18 rescued
What's the story
The Indian Navy's INS Surat has successfully rescued 18 crew members of a Singapore-flagged container vessel that caught fire on June 9, while 4 remain missing.
The rescue operation was completed at Mangalore Port by 11:30pm on Monday, reported PTI, citing officials.
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said that firefighting operations were underway as thick smoke continued to billow from the vessel.
Twitter Post
Firefighting efforts of Indian Coast Guard
#UPDATE | Fires & explosions persist from mid‑ships to the container bay ahead of the accommodation block. Forward‑bay fire is now under control, though thick smoke remains. Vessel is listing approx 10–15° to port. More containers reported overboard. India Coast Guard ships… https://t.co/CgK0mYslwJ pic.twitter.com/ubt1PsQWhd
— ANI (@ANI) June 10, 2025
Ongoing efforts
Vessel was en route from Colombo to Mumbai
The ICG said in a statement on Tuesday, "Fires & explosions persist from mid-ships to the container bay ahead of the accommodation block."
"Forward-bay fire...now under control, though thick smoke remains. Vessel is listing approx 10-15° to port. More containers reported overboard," it added.
The vessel was en route from Colombo, Sri Lanka, to Nhava Sheva, Mumbai, with an ETA of June 10 when a major fire broke out on board the ship after a container exploded on Monday.
Rescue operations
ICG ships conducting firefighting operations
According to ANI, ICG ships Samudra Prahari and Sachet are conducting firefighting operations and boundary cooling.
ICG Ship Samarth is also set to sail out with a salvage master to the incident site.
A Coast Guard Dornier aircraft took off on Tuesday morning for an aerial survey of the site.
Port workers were seen helping injured crew members disembark at Mangalore Port, some on stretchers, while others whispered prayers of gratitude or anxiously asked about missing colleagues.
Incident details
Incident occurred at around 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal
The incident occurred at around 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal, Kerala, and 130 nautical miles northwest of Kochi.
Preliminary reports suggest that 10-15 containers have fallen overboard. On Tuesday, the IGC said more containers fell overboard.
According to the Indian Navy, the vessel had 22 crew members: eight Chinese, six Taiwanese, five Myanmarese, and three Indonesian nationals.