One of crew dies as ONGC patrol vessel catches fire

An Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) patrol vessel caught fire on Wednesday morning, killing a crew member. The vessel, called Varadvinayak, is used to patrol areas near the oil rig at Bombay High.

Captain Manohar Nambiar, CPRO, Defence, said, “The fire broke out in the vessel’s engine room when the crew member tried to restart the engine. There were five crew members, of whom two were naval sailors.”

He added: “Survey ship INS Investigator and a Chetak helicopter were sent for rescue to the spot, which is around 160 km from the Mumbai coast. The other four crew members were rescued and later picked up by an ONGC survey and supply vessel.”

The fifth member was earlier suspected to have fallen off the vessel when the fire broke out. The vessel is said to have been in proximity of the oil rig at the time of the incident. It was suspected that the fire led to panic among the crew members, and the fifth jumped off.

At the end of the search operation that lasted two hours, naval officials found him in the engine room. His body is being brought to the shore on an ONGC vessel. He is believed to have died of burn injuries and suffocation.

Deputy police commissioner, port zone, Quaiser Khalid, said, “The vessel on which the fire took place is yet to reach the shore. Our officers will then investigate how the fire broke out.”