Chennai, May 31
At least 22 coastal villages in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district have reported being affected by debris from the sunken Liberian-flagged cargo vessel, MSC ELSA-3, which went down off the Kerala coast on May 24.
The wreckage, including plastic pellets, wooden logs, and even a container, has been steadily washing ashore in the villages of Killiyoor and Kalkulam taluks over the past three days.
The vessel was reportedly carrying 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 with calcium carbide.
In addition, it had 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil on board.
While the immediate aftermath of the sinking was felt along the Kerala coastline, debris is now turning up further southeast in Tamil Nadu.
Kanyakumari district has a total of 42 coastal villages — 16 in Killiyoor taluk, 13 in Kalkulam taluk, and 13 in Agasteeswaram taluk.
Among these, 12 villages in Killiyoor and 10 in Kalkulam have reported incidents of debris washing ashore.