Kochi: The Indian Navy has rescued 18 out of 22 crew members after a major fire broke out on board a Singapore-flagged container vessel (MV Wan Hai 503) about 78 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala, the Indian Coast Guard said in a statement.
The rescued crew members were brought to the Mangaluru Port by the Indian Navy ship INS Surat at 10.45 pm on Monday. Four crew members are missing in the incident, the statement said. Five of the rescued personnel were injured, and two are in critical condition. Among the crew members rescued, eight were from China, four from Taiwan, four from Myanmar, and two from Indonesia.
— Indian Coast Guard (@IndiaCoastGuard) June 10, 2025
Meanwhile, fires and explosions continued to rock the ship, with flames reported from the mid-ship area and the container bay just ahead of the accommodation block. The forward bay fire has been brought under control, but thick smoke continues to rise from the vessel, MV Wan Hai 503. The ship is listing approximately 10 to 15 degrees to port, and more containers have reportedly fallen overboard, they said.
Indian Coast Guard ships Samudra Prahari and Sachet are carrying out firefighting and boundary cooling operations at sea to prevent the flames from spreading further. Meanwhile, Coast Guard vessel Samarth, carrying a team of salvors, is being deployed from Kochi to support ongoing efforts.
Earlier, a Defence PRO said that coordinated firefighting operations continued through the night. Indian Coast Guard ships Sachet and Samudra Prahari remained engaged in firefighting efforts overnight, he said. Meanwhile, a Coast Guard Dornier aircraft took off on Tuesday morning to conduct an aerial survey of the incident site.
Officials said Coast Guard vessel Samarth is set to sail out on Tuesday morning, carrying a salvage master to the location of the incident. The major fire broke out on board the Singapore-flagged ship after a container explosion. The incident occurred at approximately 9.20 am IST on Monday, around 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal in Kannur district of Kerala and 130 nautical miles northwest of Kochi.
