Sri Lankan Navy, Indian ships battling fire on board oil tanker, one crew dead
Colombo: The Sri Lankan Navy with assistance from Indian ships was battling for a second day on Friday to douse a major fire raging on an oil tanker carrying crude from Kuwait to India that left one of its 23 crew members dead.
The Sri Lankan Navy on Friday confirmed that a Filipino sailor died in a boiler explosion in the engine room of the Panama registered tanker MT New Diamond that caught fire on Thursday.
The Navy said that 22 of the 23 member crew had been safely rescued off the tanker.
The tanker was carrying 270,000 metric tonnes of crude oil from Kuwait to India when its engine room caught fire off the coast of Sangamankanda in the eastern district of Ampara.
The Navy said that so far the 270,000 metric tonnes of crude oil it was carrying had not been affected by the fire. Steps are currently being taken to stop the spread of fire to the cargo," it said in a statement.
The Sri Lankan Navy is also taking steps to ensure that there will be no seepage of oil to the sea from the tanker.
The distressed vessel is in the waters 23 nautical miles off the eastern coast where the sea depth is measured at 3100 metres. The operation to douse the fire resumed early this morning under the supervision of the Greek national captain of the tanker.
The Indian Naval Frigate INS Sahyadri joined the operations by 0200 hours on Friday. The Navy said two more Indian Coast guard vessels are to join the rescue operations.
The Indian Coast Guard on Thursday said that it pressed into action three of its ships and a Dornier aircraft after the Sri Lankan Navy sought assistance to control the fire onboard the oil tanker.
In a swift sea and air coordinated Search and Rescue (SAR) operation, the Coast Guard said it immediately diverted ICG Ships Shaurya, Sarang and Samudra Paheredar, besides a Dornier aircraft for the firefight on the oil tanker.
The Sri Lankan Navy said that the two Russian vessels which were docked at the Hambantota port since August 31 and dispatched to the area to join the rescue operations departed Sri Lankan waters this morning.
On Thursday night, MV Helen, a vessel sailing in the area, rescued 3 Greeks and 16 Filipino crew members from the distressed vessel.
The Navy spokesman said that at least four ships had been dispatched to carry out the rescue operation. The naval ships were dispatched from the eastern port of Trincomalee and the southern port of Hambantota.
At the time the fire broke out, the Panamanian-registered ship was about 38 nautical miles (70 kilometres) east of Sri Lanka.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Kotekar Cooperative Bank robbery case: Plot hatched 6 months ago; 3 visits before the robbery
Mangaluru: Mangaluru police have taken into custody the father of the accused in connection with the robbery at Kotekar Agricultural Cooperative Bank. Police have intensified the investigation after arresting three key suspects along with the stolen gold jewellery. During the investigation, it was revealed that the prime accused, Murugandi Tevar, had planned the robbery nearly six months ago, as informed by Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal.
The Police Commissioner shared the details in a press conference at his office on Monday. He mentioned that Shashi Thevar, a Mangaluru native residing in Mumbai, had identified Kotekar Bank as suitable for the robbery, citing a lack of security. Accordingly, Murugandi Thevar visited Mangaluru in August, October, and November of 2024 to survey the bank. He chose January 17 as the day for the heist. On the day of the robbery, three accused arrived by car from Mumbai, while two others arrived by train. The accused reached the location at 12:20 PM, waited for a while, and then broke into the bank around 1:10 PM before fleeing, the Commissioner explained.
During the investigation, the accused confessed that Shashi Thevar, a local resident, had assisted them in the robbery. The police are now searching for him and four other suspects, said Commissioner Anupam Agrawal.
Mangaluru Police crack state's biggest robbery case
The robbers stole 18.674 kg of gold and ₹11,67,044 on the day of the heist. Through coordinated operations with Tamil Nadu and Mumbai police, Mangaluru police recovered 18.314 kg of gold, ₹3,80,500 in cash, two pistols, three live bullets, a Fiat car, and a fake number plate. Several teams led by ACPs Dhanya and Manoj worked continuously for four days across Tamil Nadu and Mumbai, traveling over 2700 km, the Police Commissioner stated.
The arrested prime accused MurugaThevar is also linked to other major robbery cases in Mumbai, with cases filed against him in Mulund and two other police stations. Another accused, Joshua Rajendran, has cases in Mumbai and Gujarat.
Kannan Mani has a case registered against him in Mumbai, and Murugandi Thevar's father, Shanmug Sundaram, has been arrested for assisting in hiding the stolen gold in his house, as informed by the Police Commissioner.
In the press conference, DCs Siddharth Goyal, Ravishankar, and ACPs Dhanya Nayak, Manoj were present.
After the robbery, the accused Murugandi Thevar and Joshua Rajendran fled towards Kerala through Talapady Gate in a Fiat car, while the other four suspects left via Mangaluru Railway Station. Three of them traveled by auto, and one by bus. Murugandi and his team, who headed towards Mumbai, had planned to escape to Tamil Nadu from there. The plan was to sell the stolen gold in the black market in Mumbai after dividing it equally.
The police's priority was not only to arrest the suspects but also to recover the gold jewellery belonging to approximately 1600 customers that had been stored at the bank. As a result of the operation carried out by the teams, the jewellery was seized before the accused could sell it, Police Commissioner Anupam Agrawal added.
