New Delhi: An Indian crew member was killed and several others injured after a freight ship carrying nearly 3,000 cars in the North Sea caught fire on Wednesday, the Dutch coast guard said as reported by news agency AP. According to the report, boats and helicopters were pressed into service to get the 23 crew members off the vessel after they failed to put out the flames. The coast guard said the cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained and it is not clear how one of the members died, AP reported.
According to the report, the Fremantle Highway was sailing from the German port of Bremerhaven to Singapore when it caught fire about 27 kilometres north of the Dutch island of Ameland.
As the blaze continued, some of the crew members jumped off the ship’s deck to save themselves. They were picked up by a lifeboat, the lifeboat’s captain told Dutch broadcaster NOS, AP reported. Some of the crew members suffered bone fractures, burns and breathing problems and were rushed to hospitals in the northern Netherlands, emergency services said.
Indian Embassy in Netherlands tweeted, “We are deeply saddened by the incident involving Ship ‘Fremantle Highway’ in North Sea, resulting in the death of an Indian seafarer and injuries to the crew. Embassy of India is in touch with family of the deceased & is assisting in repatriation of the mortal remains.”
“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,” the embassy added.
“Currently, there are a lot of vessels on scene to monitor the situation and to see how to get the fire under control,” AP quoted coast guard spokesperson Lea Versteeg as saying.
“But it’s all depending on weather and the damage to the vessel. So, we’re currently working out to see how we can make sure that ... the least bad situation is going to happen,” Versteeg added.