Toll rises to three in fire accident on offshore vessel

The toll in the fire accident on offshore supply vessel Coastal Jaguar, rose to three with two of the injured succumbing to burn injuries at a private hospital here on Monday, police said. The deceased were identified as K Bharadwaj and Ansar-Ul-Haq Kumar.

One person drowned and 13 others suffered burns after a major fire swept through the vessel on August 12. While a crew member Ashish Kumar drowned, another, Vicky Chowhan went missing on the day of the accident.

Following instructions from district collector V Vinay Chand, 24-year-old Jivang Joshi, one of the injured, was airlifted to Mumbai from here for advanced treatment on Saturday. Police said of the 29 crew members on board, 27 were rescued by the Indian Coast Guard and Visakhapatnam Port Trust personnel after they jumped into the sea from the burning vessel.

However, the police are yet to ascertain the reasons for the fire accident. The accident occurred around 11.25 am on August 12 at Visakhapatnam Port Trust's Single Point Mooring (SPM) Terminal, where crude and oil supplies are handled.

The fire was put out by port vessels after an over-four-hour operation.