The Indian Coast Guard is trying to tow a burning Singapore-flagged cargo ship away from the coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea, to prevent "a potential ecological disaster". The Indian defence ministry on Wednesday said that the situation remains critical and efforts are under way to establish a tow line and pull the vessel away from the coast.

The Indian Coast Guard is attempting to tow a container ship that caught fire off the coast of Kerala in southern India earlier this week to prevent a potential ecological disaster.

The situation on the MV Wan Hai 503 "remains critical" according to India's Ministry of Defence, while the coastguard said sea conditions were "unfavourable".