Indian Coast Guard rushes help as fire continues to rage on container ship off Sri Lankan coast

As fire on a container ship carrying chemicals raged off Sri Lanka for a sixth day on Wednesday, the Indian Coast Guard sent vessels to help douse the blaze, officials said.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Wednesday rushed its vessels to help douse the fire that broke out on a container ship off the Colombo Coast in Sri Lanka last week. The fire at the container ship carrying chemicals and fuels has been raging on for six days now. In view of the developments connected with the fire on MV X Press Pearl, Indian nationals currently in Sri Lanka are advised to refrain from going close to the seas off Colombo and Negombo: High Commission of India in Sri Lanka The ship -- MV X-Press Pearl -- was anchored about 9.5 nautical miles (NM) (18 kilometers) northwest of Colombo and waiting to enter its port when the fire began six days ago. All 25 crew members, including five Indians, have been evacuated. Two Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ships -- 'Vaibhav' and 'Vajra' -- have been sent for assistance.