A container ship in the Indian Ocean has reported an engine room fire with one crew member missing, the Sri Lankan navy said Friday.
The Liberian-registered MV MSC Messina issued a distress signal on Friday, two days after leaving Colombo for Singapore.
"We are told that there is an engine room fire and a crew member is missing," navy spokesman Indika Silva told AFP.
"The ship is closer to Port Blair (capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands) and Indonesia."
He said Sri Lanka was helping with the coordination of rescue efforts. It is the second fire in the Indian Ocean since the Singapore-registered MV X-Press Pearl caught fire and eventually sank off the Colombo port earlier this month. The ship was carrying large quantities of chemicals and the accident has caused extensive damage to Sri Lanka's marine ecosystem.
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