COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lanka began towing a fully loaded supertanker that had caught fire off its east coast after it began drifting towards land, a spokesman for the navy of the Indian Ocean nation said on Friday.
The fire was still raging on the New Diamond tanker carrying about 2 million barrels of oil, said the spokesman, Captain Indika de Silva. There were 23 crew on board, one of whom is presumed dead. The rest have been taken off the ship by the Sri Lankan navy, with one injured crew member flown to the capital Colombo for treatment.
There were no signs of an oil leak from the vessel, de Silva added. Ships from the Russian navy and the Indian coastguard have been assisting in the firefighting.
