The Coast Guard is now tracking 35 containers adrift at sea, and says that two of them are confirmed to contain hazardous flammable material.
‘Two of the containers have been identified as carrying spontaneous combustibles,’ Petty Officer 3rd Class Diolanda Caballero told the Vancouver Sun.
‘They are currently drifting north but we can’t predict which way they will go because of the heavy weather. The bomb cyclone is around that area,’ she said.
Photos showed smoke billowing and flames leaping from the side of the ship.
Radio communications indicate that the crew, including the captain, has been advised to abandon ship by Canadian authorities.
‘The advice is that you abandon, completely abandon, including all crew and captain,’ a Canadian Coast Guard official was heard broadcasting to the ship.
