Fire on cargo ship sparks fears of 'ecological disaster'

A cargo ship caught fire with hazardous cargo on board off India's southern coast, D Cevent a potential ecological disaster".

Five coastguard ships, two Dornier aircraft, and a helicopter are tackling the blaze on board the Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503, according to India's Ministry of Defence. The 269m (890ft) ship, carrying 2,128 metric tonnes of fuel, is adrift approximately 42 nautical miles from the port of Beypore in the state of Kerala.

Defence officials described the incident as a "serious risk to the marine environment and regional shipping routes". "With the fire yet to be fully extinguished, efforts to establish a towline and pull the vessel away from the coast are underway to prevent a potential ecological disaster.

"The situation remains critical and is being monitored continuously," the statement added. Te Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said salvage team members were winched onto the burning vessel on Wednesday to help with the towing operation.

But the sea conditions were described as "unfavourable" and while the fire had been "largely contained" the inner decks are still ablaze. The ship left Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo, on 7 June and was due to arrive on Monday at Mumbai's Jawaharlal Nehru Port, the second largest container port in India.

The coastguard received a distress alert from the ship Monday morning reporting an explosion and fire inside one of the containers, which then spread. Of the 22 crew, 18 abandoned the vessel with assistance from the Indian Navy and coastguard while four are missing, commandant Amit Uniyal of the ICG said in a statement.

Read more from Sky News:Latest: Air India flight to Gatwick crashesIran not complying with nuclear obligationsIsrael considering operation against Iran Indian officials have not yet given the cause of the explosion and fire on the vessel. It is managed by Singapore-based Wan Hai Lines, according to a statement from Singaporean authorities.

Late last month, a Liberia-flagged MSC ELSA 3 container ship sailing between the Indian ports of Vizhinjam and Kochi sank about 38 nautical miles off Kerala. The state government issued a high alert in its coastal areas and asked fishermen not to venture near the site where the container ship, which carried hazardous cargo, had sunk..