Indian coast guard douses fire on research vessel

MUMBAI, March 16 (Xinhua) -- The Indian coast guard extinguished a major fire in a Research vessel on Friday night following sounding of an alert, media report said Saturday.

The ship with 36 crew members and six scientists on board was a Research vessel belonging to The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) named Sagar Sampada, said a report by New Delhi Television Limited (NDTV).

The Indian coast guard ships, named Sujay and Vikram, engaged in firefighting operations, and managed to put out The fire and escort The crew to safety.

The origin of The fire in The Research vessel could not be ascertained so far.

The Research vessel was escorted to The New Mangalore harbour in Karnataka, India's South Western state. The Research vessel was equipped to carry out Research in marine biology and fishery, The report said.