ALBAWABA - A fire broke out aboard an empty oil tanker off the shores of Thailand on Tuesday, causing a massive explosion that killed at least one worker and injured several others.
News reports said that the blast also caused severe damage to nearby structures.
Preliminary information said that the fire broke out in the empty oil tanker in a shipyard on the Mae Klong River in the Muang district in central Thailand.
Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the fire, given that the tanker was undergoing periodic maintenance at the Roamiter shipyard, and was without cargo when it went on flames.
A final tally for the deaths and injuries was not immediately available.
#BangkokPost: (Update) One dock worker confirmed killed, four others injured and seven missing after an explosion and fire aboard an oil tanker moored at a dockyard on the Mae Klong river in Samut Songkhram province. #Thailand https://t.co/iILjpEHClN
— Bangkok Post (@BangkokPostNews) January 17, 2023
An hour after the eruption of the fire, which was seen from several kilometers away, the Marine Department said that it was controlled.
Pictures and video clips of the fire, circulating on social media platforms, showed columns of dark smoke rising tens of meters in the air.
#SamutSongkhram #Thailand??- Oil tanker explosion at the Ruammit Dockyard in tambon #LaemYai, several people said to had escaped by jumping into the water whilst injuries also reported (?@aodbu) pic.twitter.com/S2tPw7zf3X
— CyclistAnons? (@CyclistAnons) January 17, 2023
#SamutSongkhram #Thailand??- Oil tanker explosion at the Ruammit Dockyard in tambon #LaemYai, several people said to had escaped by jumping into the water whilst injuries also reported (?@aodbu) pic.twitter.com/S2tPw7zf3X
— CyclistAnons? (@CyclistAnons) January 17, 2023
