Three crew members are believed to have died in the explosion and subsequent fire that ripped through a product tanker in Bangladesh.
The accident happened on the 14,500-dwt handysize Banglar Jyoti (built 1987) at Patenga on the River Karnaphuli in Chattogram on Monday morning.
A manager at the Eastern Refinery said on Monday that all crew members had been evacuated.
But on Tuesday, the managing director of the ship’s owner, Bangladesh Shipping Corp (BSC), Commodore Mahmudul Malek, told a press conference that three deaths were feared.
The Business Standard named the men as Saurabh Kumar Saha, Nurul Islam and Md Harun.
Naval commander Masud Iqbal had earlier told reporters that one body had been found on deck.
Captain Shakhawat, general secretary of the Bangladesh Mariners’ Association, said: “The fire initiated at the upper deck of the vessel following an explosion while three technicians were doing repair work.”
Engineer Mohammad Yousuf, executive director of technical at BSC, said: “We have yet to board the vessel. Once we do, we will be able to confirm the deaths.”
The blaze was under control on Tuesday.
The tanker’s bow has sheared off as a result.
Unloading crude
Yousuf said there were 40 crew members on board the Banglar Jyoti.
Video footage showed a tug spraying water on the bow of the ship, where black smoke was seen billowing near deck piping.
The tanker was said to have been unloading around 11,000 tonnes of crude.
As a precautionary measure, all nearby vessels were moved to safe zones.
The Banglar Jyoti typically carries oil into port that it has transshipped from larger vessels out at sea.
It has no insurer listed by the International Group of P&I Clubs and there are no port state control inspections recorded on the Equasis website.
BSC has been contacted for comment.
