A major mid-sea emergency unfolded early Monday morning after a Singapore-flagged container vessel, MV Wan Hai 503, reported a massive explosion and fire onboard while transiting through the Arabian Sea, approximately 88 nautical miles off the Beypore coast in Kerala.
At 0930 hrs, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) received a distress alert from the vessel, which had departed Colombo, Sri Lanka, on June 6 and was en route to Nhava Sheva Port, Mumbai, with 22 crew members onboard.
According to an official statement from the Indian Coast Guard PRO, the explosion occurred below deck and quickly escalated, engulfing multiple containers. The crew, unable to contain the blaze, was forced to abandon the vessel and take refuge in life rafts.
The ICG Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), Mumbai, immediately swung into action, diverting nearby merchant vessel MV One Marvel for assistance. As of 1240 hrs, 18 crew members had been rescued by MV One Marvel, one of whom sustained serious injuries. However, four crew members—two Taiwanese nationals, one Indonesian, and one Myanmarese—remain missing.
Indian Coast Guard aircraft Dornier has been deployed overhead to provide real-time visuals and support coordination, while ICGS Rajdoot, positioned off New Mangalore, ICGS Arnvesh near Kochi, and ICGS Sachet stationed close to Agatti have been diverted to aid the firefighting and search efforts.
