KOCHI: A massive fire broke out onboard the Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 on Monday morning, approximately 130 nautical miles (around 144 km) northwest of Kozhikode, prompting a large-scale maritime rescue operation by Indian authorities.

Four crew members are reported missing, and firefighting operations are currently underway.

The 270-metre-long ship, which had departed Colombo Port in Sri Lanka on June 6, was on its way to Nhava Sheva Port in Mumbai. It was expected to arrive on June 9. The vessel was carrying 22 crew members, mostly Taiwanese nationals, when an explosion was reported in one of the containers onboard around 9:30 am.

The explosion triggered a fire that rapidly spread across multiple containers. Approximately 20 containers are reported to have fallen overboard due to the blast and structural damage.

As the fire intensified, 18 of the 22 crew members abandoned the vessel in life rafts. One crew member sustained serious injuries and is receiving medical attention. Four crew members—two Taiwanese, one Indonesian, and one Myanmarese—are currently unaccounted for.