There could be slight acid rain because of the emission of nitrogen dioxide from the Singapore-flagged cargo ship which caught fire near Colombo beach last week, Sri Lanka’s apex environment body has warned.

It asked people to be vigilant in case of inclement weather.

The ship, MV X-Press Pearl, was carrying a consignment of chemicals and raw materials for cosmetics from Hazira in Gujarat to Colombo port. It caught fire 9.5 nautical miles from the coast here. It is now anchored outside Colombo port. Apart from the 325 metric tonnes of fuel in its tanks, the ship was loaded with 1,486 containers carrying about 25 tonnes of hazardous nitric acid.

“We observed that the emission of Nitrogen Dioxide from the MV X-Press Pearl was massive. With the emission of Nitrogen Dioxide gas in the rainy season, there could be slight acid rain,” Dharshani Lahandapura, chairperson of Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA), was quoted as saying by newsfirst.lk on Friday.

“Especially, the people in the close proximity to the coastal belt, should remain vigilant and ensure that you do not expose yourself to rain these days,” the official said.

The environment authority said that the blaze has been brought under control to a great extent and it is taking all appropriate measures to conduct beach clean-up procedures as soon as possible to avert the risks of pollution.

“The density of the flames is reducing. Two tug boats are still engaged in firefighting missions and boundary calls. Vessels from the Indian Coast Guard and tug boats from the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Sri Lanka Navy are monitoring the situation,” Lahandapura was quoted as saying in the report. Lahandapura said they are closely monitoring the situation and there is no sign of any oil spill.

India on Tuesday dispatched ICG Vaibhav, ICG Dornier and Tug Water Lilly to help the Sri Lankan Navy extinguish the fire. India’s specialised pollution response vessel Samudra Prahari will reach augment pollution control efforts.