An "emergency zone" was declared around a burning cargo ship in western Canada carrying containers with
more than 50 tons of a dangerous chemical
.
The Canadian Coast Guard said that on Saturday morning there was a fire in 10 containers of the Zim Kingston vessel off the Canadian province of British Columbia on the Pacific coast.
The incident happened
in an area near the coast of Seattle
, in the state of Washington.
The ship is now anchored about five miles from the provincial capital of Victoria.
Two of the containers contain a hazardous substance identified as
potassium amyl xanthate
.
A notice on the Coast Guard's navigation website said the fire was "expelling toxic gases."
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The Zim Kingston ship during its container fire, October 23, 2021, United States Coast Guard
Authorities specified that the ship is not on fire at this time, but
an emergency zone of one nautical mile has been established around the Zim Kingston
, adding that there is currently no risk to the safety of people on shore. .
“
No injuries were reported
.
The fire appears to have been contained, ”said Danaos Shipping Co, the company that manages the ship, in an emailed statement.
The Rescue and Coordination Center in Victoria says 16 crew members were safely evacuated from the ship, while
five
others
, including the captain, remain on board by personal choice
.
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Canadian Coast Guard spokeswoman Michelle Imbeau said an Incident Command Post run by the Coast Guard is coordinating multiple agency responses to the incident.
Another 40 containers fell into the sea
Imbeau says Canadian authorities are working with the United States Coast Guard to monitor 40 containers that fell overboard from the Zim Kingston on Friday, and are currently floating about 12 nautical miles off the west coast of Vancouver Island, near Bamfield, in British Columbia.
The Zim Kingston ship is anchored about five miles from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, in Canada, an area near the city of Seattle, in the United States.
Capture / Maps
The Coast Guard said some of the containers
carry hazardous materials and pose a significant risk to sailors
, and the storm forecast for Sunday could hamper their recovery.
Authorities announced that a special team from Vancouver is being mobilized and the company that owns the Zim Kingston has contracted with the Resolve Marine Group, a United States-based organization, to carry out rescue operations, including fighting the fire and recovering the debris. containers.
"A helicopter placed a beacon so that we can watch (the containers) and also warn other vessels to stay away from that area," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier.
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The U.S. Coast Guard said it was deployed to Victoria after the incident so crews could take inventory.
The United States and Canadian Coast Guards are jointly monitoring the containers.
With information from AP,
NBC News
and
Kiro 7 News