On July 19, a merchant navy ship off the coast of Goa caught fire. According to a senior officer in the Indian Coast Guard, one member has been reported dead in the accident. However, the fire is now under control.

The MV Maersk Frankfurt, carrying 1,154 containers, including dangerous cargo like benzene and the cyanide compound sodium cyanate, caught fire around 102 nautical miles off the coast of Goa while on its way from Mundra in Gujarat to Colombo in Sri Lanka.

ICG Deputy Inspector General Manoj Bhatia has informed that the dry chemical powder spread through helicopters helped in controlling the fire to a great extent. The ICG Deputy Inspector General said that there is no fire in the part where the dangerous goods are kept. The firefighting operation is still going on.

Inspector General Manoj Bhatia further said the fire is under control. I will not say that it is completely extinguished. Four ships are already in the area and helicopters are also taking regular flights. The ICG spread dry chemical powder through helicopters on Saturday, the fire has been brought under control to a great extent.

The Inspector General further said that one of the 22 crew members has reportedly died and there is no immediate danger to anyone on the ship. Inspector General Manoj Bhatia further said the ICG is keeping the ship a little away from the coast. We have asked the state agencies to be prepared for any emergency caused by oil pollution. We have alerted all concerned states so that disaster contingency plans for pollution response can be activated.

Bhatia said past experience has shown that such fires take 3-4 days to be completely extinguished and even then the area remains hot, which needs to be monitored.

On July 19, a merchant navy ship off the coast of Goa caught fire. According to a senior officer in the Indian Coast Guard, one member has been reported dead in the accident. However, the fire is now under control.

The MV Maersk Frankfurt, carrying 1,154 containers, including dangerous cargo like benzene and the cyanide compound sodium cyanate, caught fire around 102 nautical miles off the coast of Goa while on its way from Mundra in Gujarat to Colombo in Sri Lanka.

ICG Deputy Inspector General Manoj Bhatia has informed that the dry chemical powder spread through helicopters helped in controlling the fire to a great extent. The ICG Deputy Inspector General said that there is no fire in the part where the dangerous goods are kept. The firefighting operation is still going on.

Inspector General Manoj Bhatia further said the fire is under control. I will not say that it is completely extinguished. Four ships are already in the area and helicopters are also taking regular flights. The ICG spread dry chemical powder through helicopters on Saturday, the fire has been brought under control to a great extent.

The Inspector General further said that one of the 22 crew members has reportedly died and there is no immediate danger to anyone on the ship. Inspector General Manoj Bhatia further said the ICG is keeping the ship a little away from the coast. We have asked the state agencies to be prepared for any emergency caused by oil pollution. We have alerted all concerned states so that disaster contingency plans for pollution response can be activated.

Bhatia said past experience has shown that such fires take 3-4 days to be completely extinguished and even then the area remains hot, which needs to be monitored.