Devastating Fire Accident In The Black Sea Leaves Six Indians Dead And Six Others Missing

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has identified the six Indian seamen who died and six who are missing following a major fire accident involving two Tanzanian-flagged ships in the Black sea.

The fire broke out in a shipping accident on Monday (21 January) on LPG/C Maestro and LPG/C Candy, the MEA confirmed on Wednesday (23 January), reports The New Indian Express.

The victims have been identified as Vikram Singh, Saravanan Nagarajan, Vishal Dod, Raj Debnarayan Pani , Pinal Kumar Bharatbhai Tandel and Karankumar Haribhai Tandel.

The six Indians who are missing were identified as Sebastian Britto Breezlin Sahayaraj, Anandasekar Avinash , Rushikesh Raju Sakpal, Akshay Baban Jadhav, Siddharth Meher and Neeraj Singh.

The four rescued Indians were identified as Ashish Ashok Nair, Kamleshbhai Gopalbhai Tandel, Sachin Singh and Harish Jogi.

The MEA conveyed its condolences to the families of the Indian seamen.

The Russian Maritime Agency and Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre Novorossiysk are continuing their efforts to locate those who are missing, said the ministry in a statement.

It also said the Director General Communication Centre at the Indian Registry of Shipping in Mumbai was in touch with the families of the seamen and that arrangements were being made to bring back the bodies of the deceased.

The fire erupted due to the failure of a pump being used to transfer the fuel between the two vessels in violation of security regulations, according to the preliminary reports obtained by Russian state news agency TASS.