Crew member of Kochi merchant ship succumbs to burns; another container ship catches fire in Kolkata, all rescued

A crew member of a domestic merchant ship that caught fire off the coast here, has succumbed to severe burns. Doctors at the Medical Trust Hospital here declared Yogesh K Solanki from Daman and Diu dead on arrival last night, a hospital spokesman said on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_2646144” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The ship ‘MV Nalini’ caught fire while being anchored at 14.5 nautical miles southwest off Kochi on Wednesday night. The vessel had lost power and propulsion, prompting it to send out a request to Navy for evacuation of its crew members. A defence spokesperson, quoting a message received from the ship with 22 crew members onboard, had said a man in his late 20s had suffered 80 percent burns. The situation was brought under control yesterday itself. The ship is a chemical tanker and was carrying naphtha. The Southern Naval Command, the Coast Guard and other agencies had made arrangements for the rescue operations. Meanwhile, in another incident, the Coast Guard on Thursday rescued all 22 mariners from a container ship that caught fire about 55 nautical miles from Haldia in the Bay of Bengal, a senior Coast Guard official said. The container ship ‘MV SSL Kolkata’ caught fire at around midnight in the Bay of Bengal and sought rescue and firefighting assistance. A Coast Guard ship and one of its Dornier aircraft were dispatched from its base at Haldia Port, which reached the ship early this morning, Coast Guard Commander (NE) Inspector General K S Sheoran said. “All the 22 survivors including the captain of the ship were picked up by the Coast Guard vessel,” Sheoran said. The crew of the ship was rescued amid rough seas and inclement weather, he said. “All the seamen are safe and on Coast Guard vessel which is headed towards Haldia port,” Sheoran said. With inputs from PTI