A cargo ship named MV SSL Kolkata was carrying 10,683.51 metric tonne of cargo in 464 containers from Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh to Kolkata. Almost the entire cargo was damaged in the fire.
The fire broke out around midnight on Wednesday when the vessel was near Sagar at the confluence of Hooghly river and the Bay of Bengal. Personnel of the Coast Guard, who rushed from Haldia Port, rescued the crew members.