Blast injures nine on fishing boat in Bay of Bengal off India

By Baird Maritime - April 7, 2024.

Indian Coast Guard personnel tend to some of the injured crewmembers of the fishing boat Durga Bhavani after it sank due to an onboard explosion in the Bay of Bengal. — Indian Coast Guard personnel tend to some of the injured crewmembers of the fishing boat Durga Bhavani after it sank due to an onboard explosion in the Bay of Bengal on April 5, 2024. (Photo: Indian Coast Guard)

Nine crewmembers of a fishing boat suffered injuries after a fire ignited and caused a gas cylinder to explode on board their vessel off the southern Indian city of Visakhapatnam on Friday, April 5.

The locally-registered fishing vessel Durga Bhavani was in the Bay of Bengal 65 nautical miles off Visakhapatnam Harbour when the incident occurred in the afternoon (local time) of Friday.

All nine of the vessel’s crew jumped into the water as the boat sank following the explosion, which was the result of flames coming into contact with a cylinder containing LPG.

The crew of a nearby fishing boat notified the Indian Coast Guard about the blast. The coast guard then despatched the patrol vessel ICGS Veera to the area to render assistance.

The nine crewmembers of Durga Bhavani were safely rescued though all suffered severe burn injuries and have since been brought to King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam. Some of the survivors are in intensive care.