Eleven Dead As Two Ships With Indian Crew Catch Fire In Russia

Mumbai: According to media reports, two members of the crew of Indian, Turkish and Libya have set fire to Russia’s Kerch Strait in Crimea, in which at least 11 people have been killed.

Russia’s regional water was set on fire on Monday. Both ships were hoisting the flag of Tanzania One of them was Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier and the other was a tanker. Due to the transfer of fuel from one of the two ships to another, the fire started.

There was 17-member crew in Candy, one of the ships, including nine Turkish nationals and eight Indian nationals.

Secondly, there was a 15-member crew in Maestro, in which seven Turkish citizens, seven Indian nationals and a Libyan trainee were involved, Russian news agency Tas said to the maritime authority.

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

Some sailors jumped from the burning ships and were successful in running away. So far 12 people have been rescued from the sea. The spokesman said that nine sailors are still missing.

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.

(With PTI Inputs)