14 dead as two ships with Indian, Turkish, Libyan crew catch fire off Russia

Moscow, January 22

Two ships carrying Indian, Turkish and Libyan crew members caught fire in the Kerch Strait separating Crimea from Russia, killing at least 14 sailors, according to media reports.

The fire broke out on Monday off Russia's territorial waters. Both vessels were flying Tanzanian flags. One of them was a liquefied natural gas carrier and another one was a tanker. The fire broke out as the two ships were transferring fuel from one to the other.

One of the ships, the Candy, had a 17-member crew, including nine Turkish citizens and eight Indian nationals.

The other one, the Maestro, had 15-member crew, including seven Turkish nationals, seven Indian citizens and an intern from Libya, Russian news agency Tass quoted maritime authority as saying.

Fourteen people were killed in the accident, Crimea's head Sergei Aksyonov told reporters on Tuesday.

"I cannot say anything about the cause of the fire. We currently have information about 14 dead sailors. Other sailors have not reached hospitals yet. Kerch hospitals are expecting to receive them, they will get medical assistance," he said.

The minister did not specify the nationalities of persons killed in the accident.

As many as 12 people have been rescued, while six are still missing. Search and rescue efforts are underway.

"Presumably, an explosion occurred (on one of the vessels). Then the fire spread to another vessel. A rescue tug is en route," said a spokesman for the Russian Maritime Agency.

Some three dozen sailors managed to escape the burning ships by jumping off the vessels.  

There were no chances to find survivors in the fire, the spokesperson said.

"As of 6 am, the status of the operation has been reclassified to search from rescue because there is no hope to find survivors," the spokesperson said.

The fire has not been extinguished. "The blaze is ongoing," he said.

Indian Ministry of External Affairs confirmed the incident and said it was constantly in touch with Russia. 

"Our embassy in Moscow is in constant touch with the concerned Russian agencies to get more information on Indian nationals affected in the incident and to extend the necessary assistance,” ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in response to queries.

‘Most Indian crew safe’

A good number of the 15 Indian seafarers have survived the accident, officials at the Directorate General of Shipping (DGS) here said Tuesday.

But the exact details, including the number of those who have made it, are not immediately available as information flow from the site is very limited, they explained.

The 15 sailors hail from different parts of the country but more details of them are awaited.

A senior DGS official told PTI that dozens of vessels are looking for survivors in the vicinity of the accident site—the Kerch Strait separating the Crimea from Russia—and wreckage is very scattered.

"Some of our sailors have contacted their families back home about making it, while a few have been rescued after they jumped out of the blazing ships," the official said, declining to give an exact number.

The DGS has given a list containing all the details of the 15 Indian sailors who are on board these ships, when they caught fire while transferring fuel Monday.

The DGS is in touch with both the foreign ministry in New Delhi, which is coordinating with the embassy in Moscow, while the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre is in touch with its Russian counterparts, the official said.

Severe weather conditions at sea have prevented rescue ships from taking victims to the shore for medical treatment, the report added.

The Kerch Strait is a key waterway that holds strategic importance for both Russia and Ukraine.

It is an important economic lifeline for Ukraine that allows ships leaving the port city of Mariupol to access the Black Sea.

It's also the closest point of access for Russia to Crimea, a peninsula Moscow annexed in 2014. A Russian-built bridge over the Kerch Strait opened in May last year. PTI/TNS