India, June 9 -- A Singapore-flagged container vessel caught fire off the coast of Beypore in Kerala, prompting the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) to launch a rescue and relief operation to bring the blaze under control and rescue the crew on board, a defence ministry spokesperson in Kochi said on Monday.

According to the defence ministry's post on social media platform 'X', the fire was reported on container vessel 'MV Wan Hai 503', around 78 nautical miles off Beypore in Kozhikode district of Kerala.

The Navy diverted its INS Surat and planned a DO sortie from INS Garuda while the ICG deployed multiple assets, including a CG Dornier, for rescue and assessment, the ministry said in the statement.

The defence ministry sai...