The Chinese Embassy in India has expressed its deep appreciation to the Indian Navy and the Mumbai Coast Guard for their swift and professional response to a fire and explosion aboard the Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503, which occurred 44 nautical miles off the coast of Azhikkal in Kerala.
Yu Jing, spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in India, took to social media platform X to commend the Indian authorities, stating, “Our gratitude goes to the Indian Navy and the Mumbai Coast Guard for their prompt and professional rescue. We wish further search operations successful and the injured crew members a speedy recovery.”
On June 9, MV Wan Hai 503 encountered onboard explosion and fire 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal, Kerala. Of the total 22 crew members on board, 14 are Chinese, including 6 from Taiwan. Our gratitude goes to the Indian Navy @indiannavy and the Mumbai Coast Guard for their prompt… https://t.co/3V8vr1xVW9
— Yu Jing (@ChinaSpox_India) June 10, 2025
The Indian Navy, along with the Indian Coast Guard, Directorate General of Shipping, and other agencies, successfully rescued 18 crew members from the Singapore-flagged container vessel MV Wan Hai 503 after a major fire broke out on board following an internal explosion.
#IndianNavy in a closely coordinated #SearchAndRescue operation with @IndiaCoastGuard, DG Shipping and other stakeholders, has safely rescued 18 out of 22 crew members Singaporean Flagged MV Wan Hai 503. The MV had reported internal container explosion and resultant major fire… pic.twitter.com/y0hYqP6ZIc
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) June 9, 2025
The incident, which took place on June 9 while the ship was en route from Colombo to Nhava Sheva, resulted in four crew members reported missing and five others injured. Of the 22 crew members on board, 14 were Chinese nationals.
The statement was made in response to updates shared by the Indian Coast Guard, which confirmed that four crew members are still missing and five others sustained injuries in the incident. The vessel was carrying containerised cargo when the explosion occurred below deck.
The Indian Coast Guard launched an immediate response, deploying multiple assets including ICGS Rajdoot from New Mangalore, ICGS Arnvesh from Kochi, and ICGS Sachet from Agatti. A Coast Guard Dornier aircraft was also dispatched to assess the scene and dropped air-droppable equipment to aid in firefighting and rescue operations.
The vessel was transporting containerised cargo when the explosion occurred below deck. The exact cause of the explosion is yet to be determined, and search operations are ongoing for the four missing crew members.
