It added that five salvage team members and an aircrew diver have been sent to help with the towing operation. <\/p>\n
“The situation remains critical and is being monitored continuously.”<\/p>\n
The vessel, which was heading to Mumbai city on India’s western coast from Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, caught fire after an internal container explosion. <\/p>\n
Eighteen crew members have been rescued so far but four others are still missing and a massive rescue operation has been launched to find them. <\/p>\n
The Indian Coast Guard said that conditions at sea remain unfavourable, external<\/a> and that their priority was to extinguish the fire and prevent a marine disaster.<\/p>\n It has deployed five ships, two aircraft and a helicopter to help douse the fire. A separate salvage team appointed by the ship owner, along with two vessels from the shipping ministry, are also helping with the efforts. <\/p>\n This is the second shipping incident to have happened off Kerala’s coast in less than three weeks.<\/p>\n Last month, a Liberian-flagged vessel carrying oil and hazardous cargo leaked and sank in the Arabian Sea, triggering an environmental emergency.<\/p>\n The Kerala state government swiftly banned fishing within a 20-nautical mile radius of the shipwreck and announced compensation for families from fishing communities in four affected districts.<\/p>\n An underwater operation has been launched to cap the ship’s oil tank and salvage its fuel.<\/p>\n Manorama News reported, external<\/a> that on Wednesday, the Indian Ministry of Ports issued a formal notice to the vessel’s management company, warning of legal action if extraction of oil from the ship is not started by Friday.<\/p>\n “The progress made in this operation is grossly inadequate and continues to fall short of the timelines and operational commitments previously provided by the salvors and owners,” it said.<\/p>\n Follow BBC News India on Instagram, external<\/a>, YouTube,, external<\/a> Twitter, external<\/a> and Facebook, external<\/a>.<\/p>\n