Four airlifted from Greek bulker after engine room fire
Marshall Islands-flagged Panoria sent a distress call on January 4 after experiencing a fire in its engine room
One crew member was badly burnt and scalded in the incident, while three more sustained serious injuries and were airlifted to Kaohsiung airport
FOUR seafarers have been airlifted from a Greece-owned bulk carrier off the Taiwan coast with serious injuries, after a fire in the vessel’s engine room.
Marshall Islands-flagged, 2008-built, 53,514 dwt Panoria (IMO: 9480930) sent a distress call at 1700 hrs on January 4 while some 23 nautical miles southwest of Eluanbi, Taiwan.
The Taiwan Coast Guard Administration dispatched five vessels in response and reached the bulker around 1800 hrs. The Air Service Corps and Ministry of National Defense also dispatched search and rescue aircraft.
TCGA said when its first vessel reached Panoria, it had lost power as a result of the fire. The fire was extinguished by the crew, a Lloyd’s List casualty report said, but four crew were seriously injured as a result.
One was badly burnt and scalded, while three more had other serious injuries. All required urgent medical attention.
Bad weather prevented the coastguard vessels from moving alongside the bulker, so the four injured crew members were airlifted by helicopter at 1900 hrs. They were flown to Kaohsiung airport and later transferred to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Seventeen crew members remained on board Panoria, which was set to be towed to Kaohsiung on January 5 (though the vessel’s AIS has remained off since the incident).
