Major fire breaks out on ship carrying 3,000 cars off Dutch coast, Indian crew member dead
Fremantle Highway
A major fire broke out on a cargo vessel carrying around 3,000 vehicles off the Dutch coast on Wednesday (July 26), killing one crew member, believed to be an Indian citizen, and injuring others.
Dutch broadcaster NOS said that all the crew, 23 in total, were Indian. Except for the lone casualty, all were safely evacuated.
The 199-metre Panama-registered Fremantle Highway caught fire on Tuesday (July 25) when it was sailing in the North Sea, some 27 kilometres north of Ameland, The Netherlands. It was headed from Germany to Egypt.
The Dutch Kustwacht (Coast Guard) received a distress call around midnight after the crew member’s attempt to extinguish the fire was unsuccessful.
Rescue ships sprayed water onto the burning boat to cool it down, but using too much water risked its sinking, the Dutch coastguard said, reports Reuters news agency.
A salvage vessel was hooked on to stop it from drifting.
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'Vessel can still burn for days'
Officials said that the vessel "could still burn for days" even though its sinking may not pose any major environmental risk.
"The fire is most definitely still not controlled. It's a very hard fire to extinguish, possibly because of the cargo the ship was transporting," said Edwin Versteeg, a spokesperson for the Dutch Department of Waterways and Public Works.
Though the exact cause of fire is yet to be ascertained, Dutch public broadcaster NOS citing a coast guard official reported that one of the 25 electric cars onboard caught fire, and subsequently engulfed all the cars.
Around 350 of the total 2,857 vehicles on the ship on board were Mercedes-Benz cars, the company said.
The ship was still burning some 27 nautical miles (50 kilometres) north of the Dutch island of Ameland — located close to a major environmental and UNESCO heritage site
"The crew tried to put out the fire themselvesbut failed. Unfortunately, one person died and several others were injured," thecoast guard said in a statement.
Indian embassy reacts
Meanwhile, the Embassy in the Netherlands said that it is in touch with the family members of the crew, and simultaneously coordinating with the Dutch authorities for all possible assistance.
“We are deeply saddened by the incident involving Ship ‘Fremantle Highway’ in North Sea, resulting in the death of an Indian seafarer & injuries to the crew. Embassy of India is in touch with family of the deceased & is assisting in repatriation of the mortal remains,” it posted on social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.
Embassy is also in touch with the remaining 20 injured crew members, who are safe and receiving medical attention. All possible assistance is being extended in coordination with the Dutch authorities and the shipping company.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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