The Sri Lankan Navy has evacuated all of the crew members of the ship that exploded near Colombo Tuesday.
Navy officials said Wednesday all of the crew members of the MV X-Press Pearl were safe and only two people were injured during the explosion.
Navy spokesman Indika De Silva said they had to resort to using an air force helicopter to douse the intense fire with a dry chemical powder. The container ship with a Singaporean flag was reportedly carrying cosmetic products and chemicals - including 25 tons of nitric acid.
According to officials, the vessel had left the Hazira port in India and was on its way to Singapore via Colombo. A fire reportedly broke out onboard the ship last week, which ignited some of the chemicals it was carrying. The fire has raged on for more than six days now.
Sri Lankan officials said experts from Belgium and the Netherlands are being brought in to survey the ship and help in putting out the flames. Officials said India has also committed to sending vessels and a Dornier aircraft to aid in the efforts.
"A special Dutch flight with vital equipment to contain the fire is now expected to reach Sri Lanka," Sri Lanka officials said Wednesday.
Indian officials said they have also placed the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) formations at Kochi, Chennai and Tuticorin on standby to assist in a joint pollution response.
The Indian Coast Guard said that about 8 to 10 of the 1,486 containers on the ship had fallen overboard after the explosion. Officials said the vessel is carrying about 325 tons of fuel in its tanks. If the fire is not placed under control immediately, there could be a threat of a massive oil spill, officials said.
The MV X-Press Pearl was reportedly manned by 25 crew members, including five Indian nationals.
This isn't the first time India and Sri Lanka had to work together to put out a ship fire off their coasts. In September last year, the two nations were able to jointly place a fire on board the Panama-registered tanker MT New Diamond under control. Through the efforts of the two nations, a major oil spill was averted.
