A chemical leak was behind a fatal drillship blast at India's Cochin Shipyard.
The explosion on ONGC's 9,100-dwt Sagar Bhushan (built 1987) killed five workers and injured 11 more on Tuesday
According to UNI, the yard's chairman and managing director Madhu Nair told a news conference: "The explosion took place while changing the steel plates in the tank.
"Acetylene and oxygen were used to cut through the metallic parts of the tank, and every day we make sure that there is no trace of these chemicals in the tank.
"Even today, we made sure that there was no trace of these chemicals in the tank before changing the plates.
"Unfortunately, the chemicals started to leak all of a sudden. Pungent odour also emanated before the explosion. This may be because the acetylene and oxygen could have accumulated at one end of the tank."
Cochin Shipyard has announced compensation of INR 1m ($15,600) each to the families of those who lost their lives.
An investigation has begun.
