An emergency zone has been declared around a burning cargo ship off western Canada after containers carrying more than 50 tonnes of a dangerous chemical caught fire.
Sixteen crew members were evacuated from the MV Zim Kingston off the coast of British Columbia’s capital Victoria, the Canadian Coast Guard said in a statement on Saturday evening. Five crew members remained on board to fight the fire, he said.
A opinion on the Coast Guard’s Navigational Warnings website, said the fire “was expelling poisonous gas.”
Video obtained by Reuters showed a fire descending from the bridge into the water.
Ten containers were on fire, according to the coast guard, who said the fire continued to spread. Two of the containers were carrying around 57 tonnes of xanthates, a chemical often used in mining.
An “emergency zone” has been set up for 1 nautical mile around the vessel while firefighting operations are in progress.
A spokesperson for the Canadian Coast Guard told the Global News network that the fire was “linked to two damaged containers carrying dangerous goods”.
The agency tweeted on Sunday morning that there was “currently (…) no risk to the safety of people ashore”, adding: “However, the situation will continue to be monitored.”
The ship itself was not on fire, the coast guard said.
Canadian officials said they were working with their U.S. counterparts to track 40 containers who have fallen overboard, claiming they pose a significant risk to browsers.
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Zim Kingston reported on Friday it encountered bad weather west of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which separates Washington State and Vancouver Island.
Data from the Vessel Finder website shows that the Zim Kingston was built in 2008, is sailing under the Maltese flag, and was en route to Vancouver when the fire broke out.
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