Explosions aboard two ships in Asian waters have left two crewmembers dead and nine others injured.
The 2000-built product tanker Chuang Yi exploded and caught fire in waters 300 km east of Hong Kong on Saturday while on its way to Taiwan. Thirteen crewmembers were aboard the vessel at the time of the incident. One person died and another six got injured. The remaining six crewmembers were unharmed.
The Hong Kong authorities dispatched two helicopters to rescue the crew of the Panama-registered ship after receiving a report of the blast, which took place at around 16.00 hrs local time.
Meanwhile, the 519 teu feeder boxship General Romulo caught fire on Sunday in central Philippine waters, leaving one dead and three injured. Based on the initial investigation, the cause of the incident was an explosion, the coast guard said.
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) rescued 19 of 20 crewmembers and brought them to the shoreline for medical assistance. The body of the last crew member is still onboard the vessel. “The responding team was unable to retrieve him due to the magnitude of fire prevailing on the vessel,” PCG said in its latest update.
