Two cargo vessels collided off the west Indian city of Mumbai on Saturday, resulting in one of the ships spilling some of its cargo of oil, news reports said. At least 33 sailors on board were safely evacuated following the accident, Indian Coast Guard officials told the PTI news agency. The ships, at least 200 metres in length, hit each other some five nautical miles off the coast of Mumbai, dpa quoted the report as saying. The Coast Guard, which received an emergency call about the collision, immediately launched operations and to rescue the crew members. The ships had tilted slightly due to the impact of the collision but had "stabilized" later and were not in any danger of sinking, a report on the online portal of the Times of India daily said. The suspected cause of the collision was navigational error on the part of one or both the ships' captains. The ships were registered in the name of a company in Panama. Some oil spillage was noticed from the two ships but the officials described it as "minor and under control," the report said. Indian authorities deployed a helicopter and a vessel to monitor and control the oil spill.
