Offshore Vessel Catches Fire Near Mumbai High Oilfield, 3 Trapped

A supply vessel caught fire near the offshore oilfield Mumbai High on Saturday, leaving one crew member injured as three others remained trapped in the engine room, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) said in a release.

The fire was reported onboard the ship "Rohini" at 1 pm when it was 92 nautical miles away from the Mumbai shores and near the NQO platform of Mumbai High.

One injured crew member has been rescued from the fire and flown to Mumbai with the help of an Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) helicopter, the Coast Guard said, adding the injured person is being treated in Mumbai while the search for three of his colleagues is on.

"The three crew members are trapped in the engine room (of the vessel), which could not be accessed because of the intensity of the fire. The injured person has been flown in with the help of an ONGC helicopter," the ICG said.

Initially, "MV Albatross-5" ship, operating in the vicinity of the oilfield in the sea, pulled the affected vessel away from the Mumbai High rigs, followed by the ICG deploying offshore patrol vessel "Samarth" to douse the flames.

A Dornier aircraft was also deployed to assess the situation. Pollution control vessels are being deployed to control the damage to the sea from this fire, the ICG said.

"Another offshore supply vessel "Priya 27" is also helping the ICG in this fire fight. A team from "Samarth" has boarded the fire hit vessel. The "Rohini" crew could not enter the engine room where the fire started because of the excessive heat and smoke," the statement said.

Mumbai High is an offshore oilfield 176 kms off the west coast of Mumbai, in the Gulf of Cambay region. The oil operations there are run by the ONGC.

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