Major fire destroys cargo vessel at Gujarat port

VERAVAL - A major fire destroyed a cargo vessel worth millions of rupees in Gujarat’s Veraval early on Friday morning.

The fire was so intense that huge clouds of smoke could be seen several kilometres away.

The fire, which broke at two on Friday morning, was still to be controlled, till last reports arrived, due to the highly combustible nature of substances on board.

“The ship caught the fire at around 2 a.m. and when I came here, I saw the whole ship is on fire and smoke, and saw many people standing here and helping,” said Hasmukh Masani, a fisherman.

“Two-three fishing boats have also destroyed and everybody like local people, fire officers and police personnel have come for help. The clouds of fire and smoke is so much and don’t know when it will going to douse,” he added.

The fire completely destroyed the ship, which was worth Rs 60 million and some of the fishing boats nearby also caught fire and were destroyed.

Fire teams from nearby areas like Mangalore, Porbandar, Junagarh, Kodinar are still working to douse the fire.

“The vessel was full of fire and people from municipalities have shifted the other boats to nearby areas and we are working very hard to douse the fire,” said Raghu Chomal, another fisherman.

No casualty has been reported so far. Police have not been able to ascertain the cause of the fire. (ANI)