A massive fire erupted on a container cargo merchant vessel about 102 nautical miles south west of Goa on Friday. The vessel was on way from Gujarat’s Mundra to Sri Lankan capital Colombo, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said in a statement.

On receiving the information, the Indian Coast Guard diverted the ship to proceed to the distressed vessel with maximum speed. Also, a Dornier aircraft took off for aerial assessment.

According to the statement by Coast Guard, the ship is carrying Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) cargo and explosions have been occurring on front part of the merchant vessel.

The Indian Coast Guard ship arrived in the area and is carrying out fire-fighting operation despite rough sea and inclement weather conditions, the statement added.

The panic-stricken crew has been reassured of the safety by the Indian Coast Guard ship. As per the statement, two ICG ships sailed with dispatch from Goa to augment firefighting efforts.

On Wednesday, the Indian Coast Guard had rescued an Indian fishing boat with 11 crew on board off the Kerala coast. The ICG braved rough weather conditions due to heavy rain.

A Dornier aircraft had sighted the distressed fishing boat on the night of July 16, PTI quoted defence ministry as saying.

“The vessel was in a critical condition due to flooding from a hull rupture near the keel and loss of propulsion, which posed a threat to the safety of the crew,” the ministry said.

Patrolling ICG ship ‘Saksham’ was immediately diverted by the ICG district headquarters no. 4 (Kerala & Mahe) to assist the vessel.

“To bolster the efforts, another ICG ship ‘Abhinav’ was deployed, along with an advanced light helicopter to rescue the crew. A technical ICG team embarked onto the distressed boat, carried out de-flooding operations, and provided necessary assistance. The operation culminated with the rescue of all crew members, and the vessel,” the ministry added.

--With agencies inputs