Kochi, May 25 -- The Liberian container vessel MSC ELSA 3 sank off the Kochi coast at around 0750 hrs on Sunday due to flooding.
All the 24 crew members on board were rescued, 21 by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and 3 by Indian Navy's INS Sujata.
The vessel went down with 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 containing calcium carbide. It was also loaded with 84.44 MT of diesel and 367.1 MT of furnace oil.
Given the sensitive marine ecosystem along the Kerala's coast, the ICG has activated full pollution response preparedness.
An ICG aircraft equipped with advanced oil spill detection systems are conducting aerial surveillance, and ICG ship Saksham, carrying pollution response equipment, remains deployed at the site...