Kochi: China has expressed gratitude to India for successfully rescuing the crew of the Singapore-flagged cargo vessel MV Wan Hai 503 that caught fire off the Kerala coast on June 9. Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India, Yu Jing, said that of the 22 people on board the vessel, 14 were Chinese nationals.
She thanked the Indian Navy and Mumbai Coast Guard for their prompt actions. "On June 9, MV Wan Hai 503 encountered 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 and the Mumbai Coast Guard for their prompt and professional rescue," Yu Jing wrote on X.
Of the 22 crew members on board the ship, four people are missing, five were injured, while 18 others were rescued. China said it wishes further search operations to be successful, and the injured crew members have a speedy recovery.
The explosion occurred while the vessel was en route from Colombo to Nhava Sheva near Mumbai. It experienced an explosion in one of its containers, sparking a massive onboard fire while sailing roughly 70 nautical miles off Kozhikode. The vessel is currently adrift.
