Freighter's anchor malfunction caught on camera

ATHENS, Greece, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A video going viral online shows how the loss of an anchor can cause apparently malfunctioning equipment to catch fire on the deck of a freighter.

The video, posted to YouTube, shows an anchor and its large chain being slowly lowered from a freighter by a mechanism operated by a member of the crew.

After about a minute of lowering, something goes wrong with the process and the chain starts quickly unspooling, throwing sparks from the mechanism.

Crew members can be seen trying to put the brakes on the chain as it picks up speed and causes flames to erupt on deck.

The chain eventually breaks and plunges into the water.

The location of the incident is unclear from the footage, but a crew member wears a jacket bearing the name and logo of Greece-based company Optimum Shipping Services.

Redditors said a crew member can be heard shouting what sounds like a Greek expletive at the end of the video.