Explosions and fire on cargo ship off the coast of India: rescue operation underway – Reuters

A cargo ship under the Singapore flag caught fire while en route to Mumbai, becoming the epicenter of a large-scale rescue operation in southern India. This is reported by UNN with reference to Reuters.

Details

According to the agency, the ship MV Wan Hai 503 experienced "multiple explosions and fires" in containers while sailing in the Arabian Sea near the coast of Kerala.

According to preliminary information, there were 22 employees on board... 18 of them jumped into the sea and are now in lifeboats 

In turn, a representative of the Indian Ministry of Defense confirmed: "The ship is currently engulfed in fire and is drifting."

The Indian Navy, together with the Coast Guard, have launched a large-scale operation to rescue the crew. According to officials, "18 crew members were rescued by the Navy and Coast Guard", one person was injured, and four more sailors are considered missing.

Fire extinguishing efforts have already begun to take control of the situation 

The Navy ship INS Surat and a Dornier patrol aircraft, which is conducting aerial surveillance of the incident area, were involved in the rescue mission.

Additionally

The MV Wan Hai 503 was heading from Colombo (Sri Lanka) to Mumbai (India). The fire broke out approximately 78–144 km from the port of Beypore, engulfing more than 40 containers. Some of the cargo burned or fell overboard. The situation is complicated by the open sea and the high risk of fire spreading to other parts of the ship.