Tamil Nadu: 22 villages in Kanyakumari, affected as debris from sunken cargo ship off Kerala coast washes ashore

The wreckage, including plastic pellets, wooden logs, and even a container, has been steadily washing ashore in the villages of Killiyoor and Kalkulam taluks over the past three days

Chennai: At least 22 coastal villages in Tamil Nadu’s Kanyakumari district have reported being affected by debris from the sunken Liberian-flagged cargo vessel, MSC ELSA-3, which went down off the Kerala coast on May 24.

The wreckage, including plastic pellets, wooden logs, and even a container, has been steadily washing ashore in the villages of Killiyoor and Kalkulam taluks over the past three days.

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The vessel was reportedly carrying 640 containers, including 13 with hazardous cargo and 12 with calcium carbide.

In addition, it had 84.44 metric tonnes of diesel and 367.1 metric tonnes of furnace oil on board. While the immediate aftermath of the sinking was felt along the Kerala coastline, debris is now turning up further southeast in Tamil Nadu.

Kanyakumari district has a total of 42 coastal villages — 16 in Killiyoor taluk, 13 in Kalkulam taluk, and 13 in Agasteeswaram taluk. Among these, 12 villages in Killiyoor and 10 in Kalkulam have reported incidents of debris washing ashore.

Some of the worst-affected locations include Neerodi, Eraviputhenthurai, Enayam, Chinnathurai, Thoothoor, Periyavilai, Chinnavilai, Kadiyapattinam, Kurumbanai, Kodimunai, Simon Colony, and Mandaikaaduputhoor, where large quantities of plastic pellets and loose nurdles have been found.

Wooden logs have been recovered from the shore at Vallavilai, while a cargo container washed up at Vaniyakudi. In Midalam, residents discovered bags of cashew nuts and iron rods. Upon receiving information about the container at Vaniyakudi, authorities quickly responded.

A three-member expert team from a Gujarat-based shipping firm, along with a coastal police commandant and eight personnel, arrived at the site on Friday to assist with salvage operations.

In the meantime, local conservancy workers, aided by NGO volunteers, have been working tirelessly to clean the beaches of debris. To streamline response efforts, the Kanyakumari district administration has set up a 24×7 control room for the public to report sightings of debris.