Cruise vessel gutted in blaze, probe begins

Panaji: Commuters travelling along Mandovi bridge and DB Road at dawn on Saturday were greeted by the eerie sight of a small fibreglass riverboat drifting aimlessly down the river with flames shooting out of the decks. The vessel was caught in the outgoing tide after the fire ate through its mooring lines at Britona jetty just before 5am.A tugboat deployed by the Captain of Ports to bring the boat under control struggled to put out the fire using the onboard firefighting mechanism. The tug also failed to push the flaming vessel away from harm’s way, with the burning vessel eventually bumping into another large vessel anchored along the Panaji bank of the Mandovi.Later, firefighters from the directorate of fire and emergency services brought the flames under control.“There were blasts like bomb explosions. A neighbour and I went to the jetty where I saw that the boat was floating away with the fire,” said Gabriel Vaz, a Britona resident. “We informed the Porvorim fire station about the blaze.”The vessel broke free of its mooring lines around 5.20am, with The currents carryed the boat towards Mandovi bridge and in the capital. With the vessel in the middle of the river, the Panaji fire station and Captain of Ports were alerted.“Around 5.55am, the Panaji fire station got a call and we immediately sent a tender to the site. We have informed police,” said a senior official with the Panaji fire station. The official added, “The cause of the fire is still unknown. The vessel was made of fibre and that is why the fire was very strong.” The Porvorim fire station has also initiated an investigation. The boat was eventually towed away. The small vessel was being used for sightseeing and river cruises.