New Delhi, September 6: The fire fighting operations on board the MT New Diamond, the Sri Lankan oil tanker, continued for fourth consecutive day on Sunday. The Indian Navy, which is helping to douse the major fire on board the oil tanker said the fire was brought under control. On Scene Commander INS Sahyadri reported that the fire on MT New Diamond is now under control and aerial reconnaissance was being undertaken to assess the present situation. This will be followed by boarding of ship, the Indian Navy said. Earlier in the day, the Indian Navy had said that flames were still visible with smoke emanating from the superstructure. MT New Diamond Fire: 22 People Rescued From Sri Lankan Oil Tanker.

The oil tanker was carrying 270,000 metric tonnes of crude oil from Kuwait to India. The blaze in the oil tanker, which also bore the brunt of two explosions and a two metre crack, has now subsided. The incident left one of its 23 crew members dead while 22 member crew were safely rescued off the tanker. The Indian ships were supporting the Lankan Navy to douse the fire that began when the tanker's engine room caught fire off the coast of Sangamankanda in the eastern district of Ampara.

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India on Friday sent An Indian Coast Guard Dornier aircraft (with Oil Spill Dispersants and Pollution Response Spray pods) for aerial assessment and to tackle oil spill if any. The oil tanker was expected to reach Paradip in Odisha on September 5 where IOC has a large refinery. The vessel's deadweight tonnage (DWT) is 299986 t, length is 333 metres and width is 60 metres.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 06, 2020 01:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).