There is no real risk of a spill from a fully loaded supertanker that caught fire off the east coast of Sri Lanka, a senior official in Sri Lanka's navy said yesterday. The fire that broke out in the engine room of the New Diamond on Thursday morning had spread to the bridge of the ship, which is carrying about two million barrels of oil, though it has not reached the cargo area, the navy said.

Director-General of Operations Rear-Admiral Y. N. Jayarathna told reporters it was the navy's view that there was no real danger of a spill, because the fire on the ship has been contained in the rear section of the vessel. "The live flames have now died down and there is only white smoke emanating from the vessel," he told a televised press conference.

A navy spokesman, Captain Indika de Silva, said there were 23 crew on board, one of whom - a missing Filipino sailor - is presumed dead. The rest have been rescued by the Sri Lankan navy, with an injured crew member flown to the capital Colombo for treatment. Three tug boats, five Sri Lankan navy ships, as well as two craft from the Russian navy and three from the Indian navy have been assisting in an operation to fight the fire and tow the ship away from the coast, after it began drifting towards land.