Emergencies – Navy: Fire on oil tanker off Sri Lanka under control – Panorama

Colombo (dpa) – The fire that broke out two days ago on an oil tanker off Sri Lanka has been contained. “The fire has weakened and is now under control,” said Navy spokesman Indika de Silva on Saturday.

22 crew members could therefore be saved. A crew member was killed. The Sri Lankan Air Force and Navy as well as employees of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard had fought the flames with a larger team. According to the coast guard, no oil leaks have been reported.

Sri Lanka’s air force initially announced on Thursday evening (local time) that oil could be seen in the water. On Friday this was no longer the case, it was said. A total of 270,000 tons of oil threatened to leak.

There was an explosion and fire in the tanker’s engine room on Thursday morning. The Panama-registered “New Diamond” was supposed to bring the oil from Kuwait to India.

© dpa-infocom, dpa: 200905-99-439914 / 2

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