Taiwan thanks Indian Navy for swift rescue of S'pore-flagged ship's crew

The Taiwan Government has expressed gratitude to the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard for their swift rescue operation involving the merchant vessel Wan Hai 503.

In a post on X, Taiwan in India stated, "The Taiwan Government is grateful for the swift rescue operation provided by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard to Wan Hai 503. We wish the missing crew members return safe and the injured recover soon."

The appreciation comes as the Indian Coast Guard is continuously working to combat the fire that engulfed the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503.

 

It said attempts were being made to control the vessel fire that injured several crew members. Of the 22 crew members, 18 were rescued by the Indian Navy, while four are still missing.

According to the Indian Coast Guard, as of 5:00 PM on Tuesday, the flames on the container ship were reduced, as thick smoke continued to emanate.

"Indian Coast Guard ships continue to fight the fire and attempt to bring the inferno on the container ship MV WAN HAI 503 under control off the Kerala coast. Visible flames have reduced, and thick smoke continues to emanate as of 1700 hours today," the Indian Coast Guard said.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in India spokesperson Yu Jing on Tuesday expressed gratitude to the Indian Navy and the Mumbai Coast Guard for their prompt and professional rescue of its crew members onboard the Singapore-flagged container ship MV Wan Hai 503, which encountered an onboard explosion and fire 44 nautical miles off Kerala's Azhikkal.

According to Yu Jing, Chinese and Taiwanese crew members were among those onboard MV Wan Hai. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson wished for successful search operations and speedy recovery for injured crew members.

"On June 9, MV Wan Hai 503 encountered an onboard explosion and fire 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal, Kerala. Of the total 22 crew members on board, 14 are Chinese, including 6 from Taiwan. Our gratitude goes to the Indian Navy @indiannavy and the Mumbai Coast Guard for their prompt and professional rescue. We wish further search operations successful and the injured crew members a speedy recovery," Yu Jing posted on X.

Four crew members were reported missing and five injured after an explosion under deck was reported onboard MV WAN HAI 503 while it was on passage from Colombo to Nhava Sheva. Indian Coast Guard ships have been deployed for firefighting and rescue operations.

The vessel was carrying containerised cargo and had 22 crew members, including eight Chinese, six Taiwanese, five Myanmarese, and three Indonesian nationals. Following the explosion and escalation of the fire, the crew abandoned the ship.