British, Dutch professionals join efforts to salvage tanker; fire extinguished

COLOMBO: A fire on a supertanker abandoned off Sri Lanka’s east coast has been extinguished, a Sri Lankan navy spokesman told Reuters.

“The fire on the oil tanker has been doused. However we are continuing to spray water in case it reignites,” Captain Indika De Silva told Reuters.

The Associated Press earlier reported earlier that a team of experts was joining efforts to salvage the large oil tanker.

A team led by an expert is already on one of the tug boats while another 10 British and Dutch professionals including rescue operation specialists, disaster evaluators and legal consultants are expected to join the mission on Sunday, the news agency quoted the navy as saying.

Four tug boats, three Sri Lankan navy ships and six Indian ships have been battling the fire on the MT New Diamond since Thursday.

An additional five Sri Lankan coast guard ships and gun boats are supplying the others vessels.

According to The Associated Press, navy spokesman Indika de Silva said the fire on the ship has been brought under control but is still not extinguished. There was no leak.

As ships and helicopters continue to douse flames, the navy said there was a risk of occasional fires due to deep sea winds but they’re being controlled.