UPDATE - Explosions, fire rock cargo vessel off India's Kerala coast, toss 40 containers into sea

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, CHANGES DECK

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) - Indian Navy launched a rescue operation after explosions and fires erupted on a cargo ship bound for the country's financial capital Mumbai on Monday, officials and local media reported.

The explosion caused some 40 containers to fall into the Arabian Sea, and forced several crew members to jump overboard to escape the fire, local broadcaster NDTV reported, citing a Defense Ministry spokesperson.

The Singapore-flagged WAN HAI 503 met with an accident about 144 kilometers (90 miles) off the coast of the southern Indian state of Kerala.

According to the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, the vessel with 22 crew members on board was carrying over 650 containers.

Four crew members remained unaccounted for, while the remaining 18 have been rescued, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said in a statement.

Some of the crew members have received injuries, according to the MPA.

The Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy are assisting the crew and conducting search and rescue operations for the four missing individuals, the statement added.

The 270-meter-long vessel, with a draft of 12.5 meters, had left Sri Lankan capital Colombo on June 7 and was expected to arrive in Mumbai on June 10.

The navy said that measures to airlift the crew were adopted instantly following the instructions from the higher authorities.

*Writing by Aamir Latif