New Delhi, Jun 11: Taiwan on Wednesday thanked India for rescuing 18 crew members of the Singapore-flagged cargo vessel, WAN HAI 503, which recently caught fire about 70 nautical miles off the Kerala coast.

Of the 22 onboard, 18 crew members have been rescued after they jumped into the sea, while the whereabouts of four other crew members attached to the ship's Fire and Safety Department are being ascertained.

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India said that the four crew members who remained missing include two Taiwanese, one from Indonesia and one from Myanmar.

"The Taiwan Government is grateful for the swift rescue operation provided by the Indian Navy and Coast Guard to Wan Hai 503. We wish the missing crew members return safe and the injured recover soon," Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India posted on X.

"On June 9, MV Wan Hai 503 encountered an onboard explosion and fire 44 nautical miles off Azhikkal, Kerala. Of the total 22 crew members on board, 14 are Chinese, including 6 from Taiwan. Our gratitude goes to the Indian Navy and the Mumbai Coast Guard for their prompt and professional rescue. We wish further search operations successful and the injured crew members speedy recovery," said the spokesperson in a post on X.

Earlier on Tuesday, Yu Jing, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in India expressed gratitude towards India for their swift rescue operations stating that of the 22 crew members, 14 are Chinese, including two from Taiwan.

Taiwan, on the other hand, slammed the Chinese claim as false and absurd, asserting that only the Taiwanese elected government can represent its people and not the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

"The Chinese Embassy's claim is false and absurd. We reiterate hereby that Taiwan and China are not subordinate to one other and that the CCP regime has never ever governed Taiwan. Only Taiwan's democratically elected government has the right to represent its people," said Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India on Wednesday.

The 270-metre-long vessel, with a draught of 12.5 metres, had departed Colombo on June 7 and was en route to Mumbai.

On Monday, the Indian Navy, in a closely coordinated Search And Rescue(SAR) operation with the Indian Coast Guard, DG Shipping and other stakeholders, safely rescued 18 out of 22 crew members.

According to the spokesperson of the Indian Navy, the vessel had reported an internal container explosion, and resultant major fire onboard.

In a statement on Monday, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) also expressed its appreciation to the Indian authorities for their swift response in recovering the 18 crew and for their support for the ongoing SAR operations.

(IANS)

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