Coastal Jaguar mishap: Death toll rises to three

Visakhapatnam : The death toll in the fire accident that took place on the offshore supply vessel Coastal Jaguar off the Vizag coast, rose to three with two more injured persons succumbing to burn injuries at a private hospital while undergoing treatment in Vizag on Monday. Sources said that the death toll may rise to four as another person injured in the incident was critical.

The deceased were identified as K Bharadwaj and Ansar-Ul-Haq Kumar. It may be recalled that Ashish Kumar died on the spot and Vicky Chowhan went missing on the day of mishap (August 12). Following instructions from district collector V. Vinay Chand, 24-year old Jivang Joshi, one of victims of the fire accident, was airlifted to Mumbai from Vizag for advanced treatment on Saturday.

The police said that of the 29 crew members on-board the Coastal Jaguar, 27 were rescued by personnel of the Indian Coast Guard and Visakhapatnam Port Trust after they jumped into the sea from the burning vessel. One crew member Ashish was killed in the mishap and another person Vicky was still missing. However, the police are yet to ascertain the reasons behind the fire mishap in the vessel.