Container ship with dangerous cargo sinks off coast of India -VIDEO

The Liberian-flagged container ship MSC ELSA 3 sank in the Arabian Sea 38 nautical miles off the coast of the Indian city of Kochi in the state of Kerala, News.Az reports citing the Indian Coast Guard social media page.

"There were 640 containers on the vessel, including 13 with dangerous cargo and 12 with calcium carbide. In addition, there were 84.44 tons of diesel fuel and 367.1 tons of fuel oil in the vessel's tanks," the statement said.

According to available information, the container ship has completely capsized due to flooding in one of its holds. There is a threat of a fuel spill.

"The Indian Coast Guard has activated the Integrated Pollution Response Preparedness Plan and is working in close coordination with the state administration on all possible scenarios. Coast Guard aircraft equipped with advanced oil spill detection technology are conducting aerial assessment of the affected area. There are no reports of oil spill as of now," the service said.

It is noted that the container ship MSC ELSA 3 began to list on Saturday and by Sunday morning it had completely capsized. Indian services evacuated the people on board.

"All 24 crew members of the Liberian-flagged container ship MSC ELSA were safely rescued, 21 by the Indian Coast Guard and three by the Indian Navy ship Sujata," the Coast Guard said.

According to The Indian Express, the ship's captain is a Russian, and the crew also included twenty Filipinos, two Ukrainians and one Georgian. The container ship MSC Elsa 3, built in 1997, is 184 m long and 25.3 m wide. It was en route to Kochi from the international port of Vizhinjam in the state of Kerala.

News.Az