Canada: Evacuations as ship emits toxic gas off the coast

Sixteen people were evacuated from a burning container ship off the Pacific coast of Canada.

The Zim Kingston ship is expelling toxic gas, but officials said there is “no safety risk” to people on shore.

The ship was en route to Vancouver when it caught fire late Saturday evening.

Response ships spent the night cooling the ship’s exterior with water, but were unable to put out the flames directly due to the chemicals, CBC News reports.

“The ship is on fire and expelling toxic gas,” the Canadian Coast Guard said. He added that 10 containers were affected by the fire.

“There is currently no risk to the safety of people on the ground, however the situation will continue to be monitored,” he said.

The coast guard reported that the ship was carrying more than 52,000 kg of chemicals located in two of the burning containers.