Bhubaneswar: A fishing trawler worth around Rs 7 lakh was completely gutted after it caught fire at the fishing harbour in Paradip Port on Saturday.
The trawler has been identified as ‘Devi Laxmi’. The exact cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. It is suspected that the fire spread from inflammable materials as fishermen were cooking inside the trawler and had kept gas cylinders and kerosene for long-term use at sea.
Some fishermen who were inside the boat at the time of the incident escaped unhurt. On being informed, the Paradip fire brigade reached the spot and doused the flames. By then, the trawler had been completely gutted.
Other trawlers anchored nearby were sailed to distant places and narrowly escaped the blaze.
It may be recalled that in March last year, three trawlers and five boats were gutted in a massive fire mishap at the fishing harbour at Nehru Bangla in Paradip.
