Indian Coast Guard continues search for 4 missing in container ship fire

Mangaluru, India, June 12 (CNA) Rescuers are continuing to search for four crew members from a burning Taiwan-owned container ship that caught fire off southern India on Monday, officials said Wednesday.

Indian Coast Guard (ICG) officials told representatives from Wan Hai Lines, the Wan Hai 503's Taiwanese owner, during a meeting in Mangaluru attended by CNA that it was still unclear if the missing crew members were still on the ship.

The four unaccounted-for crew members include two Taiwanese nationals, one person from Indonesia and one from Myanmar.

In a news release, the ICG said the vessel continues to drift south-east within India's Exclusive Economic Zone, approximately 42 nautical miles from Beypore, Kerala.

According to the ICG, five salvage team members and an aircrew diver were winched onto the Wan Hai 503 on Wednesday to facilitate towing operations.

Five ICG ships, two Dornier aircraft, and a helicopter are engaged in the ongoing firefighting mission, supported by two vessels from the Directorate General of Shipping, the ICG added.

The ICG said that while visible flames have been significantly reduced, the fire remains active in the inner decks and near the Wan Hai 503's fuel tanks, complicating rescue and salvage efforts.

Citing concerns over oil leaks and "hazardous cargo" that "poses environmental risk," the ICG said that its focus remained on "extinguishing the blaze and preventing a marine disaster."