Fire on ship off Mangaluru coast, 46 people rescued

There have been no casualties. Pic/Indiacoastguard

A ship with around 46 people onboard caught fire off the Mangaluru coast in Karnataka late on Friday night. The fire was doused by two ships of the Indian Coast Guard and no casualties have been reported.

The ship, named Sagar Sampada, is a research vessel of the Shipping Corporation of India and was carrying around 30 crew members and 16 scientists when it caught fire late. The vessel caught fire when it was located around 30 nautical miles from the Mangaluru coast.

After an alert was sent out, two Indian Coast Guard ships - Vikram and Sujay - were promptly deployed to douse the fire, which was said to be a major one. There have been no casualties and all the people who were onboard the ship are safe. The ship is being brought back to Mangaluru port, the Indian coast guard tweeted.

"During late hrs on 15 Mar 19, #SCI Research Vessel Sagar Sampada reported fire onboard at sea @IndiaCoastGuard Ships Sujay & Vikram engaged in fire fighting ops. Safety of 36 crew & 16 scientist onboard ascertained. Vessel being escorted to New Mangalore harbour.@DefenceMinIndia," the Coast Guard said on Twitter.

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