The Indian Coast Guard (IGC) yesterday said the search for four crew members, including two Taiwanese, who went missing after a container ship caught fire off the coast of India on Monday, would continue for at least 10 days.
Officials from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Mumbai and representatives of the ship's operator, Wan Hai Lines, yesterday visited the ICG’s office in Mangaluru in India's southwest.
The search for the missing crew members would last for 10 to 15 days, despite the golden window for rescues being 72 hours, the ICG told them.
Photo from the Indian Coast Guard on X
The problem is the the ICG has no information about whether the missing crew are still on the ship or not, an ICG official said, describing the search as difficult.
Of the 22 crew members on the Wan Hai 503, 18 abandoned ship and were rescued after the incident near Beypore Port on the southwestern coast of India, but four remained missing, Taiwan-based Wan Hai Lines said in a statement.
The rescued crew, including four Taiwanese, were escorted ashore by the Indian Navy, the Malayalam-language Kerala Kaumudi newspaper reported.
The ICG and navy launched a search operation for those still missing, media reports said.
The fire has not yet been extinguished, and the vessel was carrying highly explosive cargo that could produce poisonous substances if the fire continues, but Wan Hai Lines has yest to clarify the situation, Indian media reported.
The top priority is rescuing people, and after that, the issue of how to deal with the ship, the ICG official said.
The authorities are trying to contain the blaze and continue the search, the official said.
If oil leaks and the ship sinks, it would be towed away to minimize contamination, they added.
The ship left Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Saturday evening and was scheduled to arrive in Mumbai on Tuesday.
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