Colombo (AFP)

A Panamanian-flagged tanker remained in flames off Sri Lanka for the second day in a row on Friday, heightening fears of a large-scale oil spill in the Indian Ocean after one that polluted the coast in August from Mauritius.

Sri Lankan military vessels and coast guards from neighboring India continued to attempt to extinguish the blaze raging on the "New Diamond" with fire hoses.

The tanker carries 270,000 tonnes of crude oil and 1,700 tonnes of diesel.

He issued a distress call Thursday after an explosion in his engine room.

A Sri Lankan military helicopter was dropping water.

Indian Navy ships were also en route to the burning tanker.

The Maldives, located a thousand kilometers southwest of Sri Lanka, have expressed concern about a possible oil spill.

According to the Indian Coast Guard, the hull of the New Diamond has a two-meter crack above the waterline.

However, the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Center said there was no imminent danger of an oil spill.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Center chief Sudantha Ranasinghe told AFP.

"The fire has not spread to the cargo. Once the flames are extinguished, the vessel will be towed further into deeper water."

The authorities are considering a transshipment of the cargo, he said.

A Filipino sailor perished in the explosion, the Sri Lankan navy confirmed in a statement.

The other 22 crew members, including five Greeks and 17 Filipinos, were evacuated after being hoisted by helicopter.

- Distress signal -

The third officer of the tanker, also Filipino, was severely burned and hospitalized in Kalmunai, 360 kilometers east of Colombo.

His condition is stable, according to the spokesman for the Sri Lankan navy.

The 330-meter-long VLCC (Very Large Crude Carrier) tanker was some sixty kilometers east of the Sri Lankan coast when it issued its distress signal.

As the fire intensified, it drifted around ten kilometers overnight, approaching the Sri Lankan coastline.

Sri Lanka and India dispatched reconnaissance planes to follow the ship.

Departing from Kuwait, bound for the Indian port of Paradip, the "New Diamond" is about thirty meters longer than the Japanese bulk carrier MV Wakashio which ran aground at the end of July on a reef in the south-east of Mauritius.

Three weeks later, the wreckage broke in two, after a race against time to pump out the fuel it contained.

In the meantime, the MV Wakashio had released at least 1,000 tonnes of fuel oil that soiled the coast - including protected areas home to mangrove forests and endangered species - and crystal clear waters popular with tourists.

The Maldives have raised concerns about a possible oil spill from the New Diamond that could cause serious damage to the environment.

This archipelago of 1,192 coral islands depends on fishing and tourism.

Ahmed Naseem, cabinet minister to the president of the Maldives, called for precautionary measures for his country.

An oil spill "could be a major disaster," he tweeted.

© 2020 AFP