Major Explosion on Container Ship MV X-Press Pearl Injures Two; Crew of 25 Included Chinese, Indian, Filipino, and Russian Members

Fire In A Container Causes A Large Fire Aboard The Container Ship MV X-Press Pear

A strong explosion hit the container ship MV X-Press Pearl, anchored near Colombo, the largest city and financial center of Sri Lanka. The force of the explosion was so great that the entire crew had to be quickly evacuated by the professionals who were present on site.  

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According to information from Al Jazeera, the container ship MV X-Press Pearl was anchored 9.5 nautical miles, about 18 km from Colombo, when a fire started approximately 4 days ago on the ship. 

Force Of The Explosion Throws Containers Into The Sea

The company reported that it believes the fire was caused by chemicals being loaded onto the Singapore-flagged ship. The ship was carrying 1,486 containers, along with 25 tons of nitric acid. With the impact and force of the flames, several containers ended up falling into the water. 

The ship’s crew consisted of 25 people, comprising Indians, Filipinos, Russians, and Chinese. Firefighting specialists quickly evacuated the ship, but two people were injured. The severity of the injuries is still unknown. 

Authorities in Sri Lanka reported that experts from Belgium and the Netherlands are inspecting the ship, and at the same time, India has already promised to send two ships and an aircraft to assist in combating the fires. 

“Help Is On The Way! As Always Responding Promptly To Sri Lanka’s Request, India Is Dispatching ICG Vaibhav, ICG Dornier, And Tug Water Lilly To Combat The Fire,” said the Indian command in a Twitter post.

Videos Of The Flames Of The Fire Impress

The Sri Lankan Air Force released photos and videos showing the ship engulfed in a lot of smoke and flames. See below some images recorded by The Sun.

The Sri Lankan Navy is also working hard to extinguish the fire on the ship. As soon as the explosion occurred, the Navy already deployed two patrol vessels, a warship, and an aircraft.