MUMBAI – A cargo ship en route to Mumbai caught fire after multiple explosions, resulting in 40 containers falling into the Arabian Sea and several crew members leaping overboard to escape the flames.
According to a report by Reuters published in Dawn, the incident involved the Singapore-flagged ship WAN HAI 503, which was about 144 kilometers off the Kerala coast when the explosions occurred. Kerala Disaster Management Authority Secretary Shekhar Kuriakose stated that 22 crew members were on board, out of which 18 jumped into the sea and were rescued by emergency boats.
Images and videos shared by the Indian Coast Guard on social media showed thick black smoke billowing from the vessel, with some containers visibly open and scattered. The ship is still afloat, though the fire continues. The Ministry of Defence has yet to disclose the nature of the cargo or the cause of the explosions.