Mangalore, March 14: In a bizarre incident, four vessels caught fire at Kasba Bengre under mysterious circumstances on Sunday afternoon creating panic among the fishermen and local residents.All the four ill-fated vessels were docked for repair works, official sources said.
The fire which broke out at around 3:15 pm completely destroyed two cargo vessels named ‘Musthafa’ and ‘Abbas’ owned by Kunnhi Koya, from Hamaimi in Lakshadweep and TK Ahmed Haji from Kavaratti, Lakshadweep respectively, while passenger boat ‘Hasmi Madat’ owned by a Kolkata based businessman and fishing boat ‘Karavali’ owned by local entrepreneur Hameed Bengre have been partially destroyed.
The owners of the cargo vessels claimed that they have suffered an estimated loss of Rs 50 lakh each, while the owners of fishing boat and passenger vessel put the estimated loss at Rs 5 lakh and Rs 7 lakh respectively.
People at the ship yard, said they saw the fire blazing up to five meter high. However six fire extinguisher vehicles responded quickly, and the fire was brought under control within a half an hour, said a senior police officer.
Panambur police circle Inspector Valentine D'Souza along with a team visited the spot and began an investigation into the fire tragedy.
The fire which broke out at around 3:15 pm completely destroyed two cargo vessels named ‘Musthafa’ and ‘Abbas’ owned by Kunnhi Koya, from Hamaimi in Lakshadweep and TK Ahmed Haji from Kavaratti, Lakshadweep respectively, while passenger boat ‘Hasmi Madat’ owned by a Kolkata based businessman and fishing boat ‘Karavali’ owned by local entrepreneur Hameed Bengre have been partially destroyed.
The owners of the cargo vessels claimed that they have suffered an estimated loss of Rs 50 lakh each, while the owners of fishing boat and passenger vessel put the estimated loss at Rs 5 lakh and Rs 7 lakh respectively.
People at the ship yard, said they saw the fire blazing up to five meter high. However six fire extinguisher vehicles responded quickly, and the fire was brought under control within a half an hour, said a senior police officer.Panambur police circle Inspector Valentine D'Souza along with a team visited the spot and began an investigation into the fire tragedy.