Three crew members of a barge lost their lives and two had to be hospitalised after inhaling toxic gases in the barge’s wet waste tank on Friday night.
According to Coast Guard officials, the incident occurred around 10 p.m. on Friday aboard the Orion II, a Singaporean bulk carrier,which had come to Mumbai to deliver a consignment of wheat.
Coast Guard officials said they received a distress signal from another ship anchored off the Mumbai coast. As the owner of Orion II could not be contacted, the Coast Guard contacted its agent in Mumbai who confirmed receiving a distress call. The agent also said they were sending another ship to tow the Orion II to Mumbai.
“The Coast Guard Ship C-154, commanded by Deputy Commandant C. Vijay Kumar, reached the Orion II around 2 a.m. on Saturday. The team learned that a crew member had entered the ballast tank to install a de-flooding pump around 10 p.m. on Friday. The tank is located three decks below and is only accessible by a single hatch at the top. As the sludge level in the tank had increased, he fell unconscious after inhaling the poisonous gases,” an officer said.
Four others sent in to rescue the unconscious mariner too fell unconscious. Of the nine people on board the Orion II, five were unconscious when the Coast Guard rescue team reached it.
“One of the five crew members, Mohammad Daud Kurey, who is the master of the barge, had been evacuated by his colleagues, while the other four were still inside. Three of them were apparently dead, while the fourth was not responding to his name being called,” the officer said.
The rescue team then pulled out the unconscious mariners using special ropes. Mr. Kurey, along with the other rescued crew member identified as Ganesh Bitaa, 40, was subsequently admitted to the Bombay Hospital, while the bodies of the three deceased crew members were taken to the J.J. Hospital.
The deceased have been identified as Mangesh Bhosle, 27, Jayanta Chaudhari, 23, and Kritick Koch, 27. Officials said Kurey is stable while Bitaa is admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
