Kerala on alert after leak from capsized cargo ship

According to an official note issued after the meeting, the leaked fuel is drifting at a speed of approximately three kilometres per hour, posing serious environmental and navigational threats

- AGENCIES

A Liberian cargo ship, carrying 640 containers including 13 with hazardous cargo, capsized and sank in the sea off the state's coast in the early hours of Sunday, and the incident has led to a major oil leak, a top official said.

The cargo reportedly fell from the Liberian-flagged ship MSC ELSA 3, which was Saturday en route to Kochi port from Vizhinjam before it sank in the Arabian Sea.

In response to the environmental threat and potential public safety hazards, the Kerala government has launched urgent containment measures. Rapid Response Teams (RRTs) have been deployed to manage the risk of drifting cargo containers and a possible coastal oil spill. A high-level emergency meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary directed the Factories and Boilers Department and the Pollution Control Board to constitute the RRTs.