Cargo Ship on Fire, Spewing Toxic Gas off Canada's Pacific Coast

Smoke rises from the container ship Zim Kingston, burning from a fire on board, off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada October 23, 2021. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the container ship Zim Kingston, burning from a fire on board, off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada October 23, 2021. (Reuters)
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Cargo Ship on Fire, Spewing Toxic Gas off Canada's Pacific Coast

Smoke rises from the container ship Zim Kingston, burning from a fire on board, off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada October 23, 2021. (Reuters)
Smoke rises from the container ship Zim Kingston, burning from a fire on board, off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada October 23, 2021. (Reuters)

A container ship has caught fire and is expelling toxic gas off Canada's Pacific coast, authorities said Saturday.

The Zim Kingston ship had been bound for Vancouver when the flames erupted, with the fire reported to the coast guard at around 11 pm local time, CBC News reported.

"The ship is on fire and expelling toxic gas," the Canadian Coast Guard said in a statement on its website, adding that the vessel remains anchored off the coast of British Columbia.

"An emergency zone has been established at Constance Bank within 1 mile of the anchored container ship Zim Kingston," the agency said.

It is unclear what caused the blaze, reported AFP.

The coast guard said the ship is carrying more than 52,000 kg of chemicals located in two of the containers that are on fire, CBC News said.

At least ten crew members have been evacuated, according to media reports.



Iran Unveils New Underground Naval Base

A screenshot from Iranian state TV shows a newly built underground naval base, January 18, 2025.
A screenshot from Iranian state TV shows a newly built underground naval base, January 18, 2025.
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Iran Unveils New Underground Naval Base

A screenshot from Iranian state TV shows a newly built underground naval base, January 18, 2025.
A screenshot from Iranian state TV shows a newly built underground naval base, January 18, 2025.

The naval arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) unveiled on Saturday an underground base in the country’s southern waters, according to footage aired by state television.

The broadcaster, AFP said, showed that the base houses dozens of assault boats equipped with missile launchers.

“This facility, which houses missile assault boats, lies 500 meters underground on the southern waters of Iran,” the report said. It did not reveal the location of the base.

IRGC commander General Hossein Salami toured the base with naval arm commander, Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, the footage showed.

“We assure the great nation of Iran that their young people are capable of coming out honorable and victorious from a battle on the seas against enemies big and small,” Salami said.

Salami's visit comes just days before Donald Trump's inauguration as US president on Monday for a second term of office.

During his first term, Trump pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran, abandoning a 2015 nuclear agreement and reimposing sweeping sanctions.

State television said some of the vessels kept at the base unveiled on Saturday were “capable of destroying US warships and destroyers.”

In a rare video released on January 10, the Iranian state TV showed Salami and Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh touring an underground missile storage facility that had been used to launch around 200 missiles at Israel last October. These included for the first time hypersonic weapons.

At the time, Iran said the attack came in retaliation for the assassination in July of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, and in response to the Israeli air strike in the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 27 that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Brig-Gen Abbas Nilforoushan, the operations commander of the IRGC’s overseas arm, the Quds Force.

Israel announced in late October that it had struck military targets inside Iran in response to the Iranian attacks.