Naval boat catches fire on Hooghly river

A speed boat used by the Indian Navy to patrol the Hooghly river, caught fire in the morning, a Defence Ministry official said on Tuesday.

"Out of the two speed boats hired by the Navy for patrolling the river, one boat anchored near Babughat -- a river bank in central Kolkata on the Ganges -- caught fire while undergoing routine maintenance. The boat does not belong to the Indian Navy," the official said.

As Navy personnel are on board only while patrolling, no naval personnel was on board when the fire took place, he added.

The official said the responsibility of both operation and maintenance of the vessel lies with the contractor.

"For the interim period, we will have some stop-gap arrangement for patrolling the river," he said.

--IANS

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