Blaze on vehicle carrier forces 19 crew members to abandon ship

^{Photo credit: Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA)}

Crew members have been evacuated from a vehicle carrier that caught fire on Monday. The Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) reported the evacuation of 19 crew members, one local and 18 Filipinos, from the vessel Malaysia Star on December 2.

The vessel caught fire at a position of approximately 9.1 nautical miles from Tanjung Laboh, Batu Pahat Johor.

The vehicle carrier was travelling to Kota Kinabalu, carrying 19 crew members, when it experienced problems.

The MMEA was alerted to the fire after maritime commander Mohammad Zaini bin Zainal said his team had received a distress call from the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre at 08:40 local time.

Two Malaysia maritime patrol boats and a Marine police force boat were moved to the location of the incident to carry out rescue operations and provide security.

Pictures show smoke coming from the vessel with the authorities reporting that the crew members safely rescued from the vessel.