Saudi Border Guards rescue crew of fire-stricken ship off the Red Sea

Jizan, The Gulf Observer: Saudi Arabia’s Border Guards have rescued the crew of a Panama-flagged commercial container tanker that caught fire while sailing in the Red Sea.

The incident occurred on the tanker about 123 nautical miles northwest of the Jizan Port, according to SPA.

Border guard personnel initially received the distress call from the Panamanian ship, informing them of a fire on board, and passed the information to group’s the command-and-control center in Jizan and other relevant authorities, who then provided the necessary support, according to Colonel Misfir Al-Qarini, official spokesperson for the Border Guards.

The operation, in cooperation with a foreign ship, managed to rescue 25 crew members of various nationalities and were evacuated to the port of Jizan, SPA reported. They were met on the port by medical teams to assess their health conditions.

All the sailors are in good health and have been transferred to their place of residence, Al-Qarini said.