Blast Due to Gas Ignition on Tanker in Shipyard Kills 6, Injures 23

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On Thursday, an explosion at a shipyard in Colombia claimed the life of six persons and injured 23 others.

What happened?

The blasts occurred at the shipyard in the Caribbean port of Cartagena.

The officials said that the police were “investigating whether it was an accident or an attack”.

Three blasts occurred:

“There were three explosions, two of them at the same spot,” a spokeswoman for the local fire service said.

She said two of the blasts struck US shipbuilder Astivik.

The third rocked the premises of Colombian naval corporation Cotecmar.

Six killed, 23 injured:

Authorities did not immediately clarify how many died at each site.

Fire-fighters put out blazes caused by the explosions, the spokeswoman told AFP.

The shipyards lie in an industrial zone some 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the tourist centre of Cartagena.

Investigation underway:

Cotecmar president Jorge Enrique Carreno told reporters one of the blasts occurred in a tanker vessel that was undergoing maintenance.

Officials speculated that the blast may have been caused by the ignition of gas inside vessels in the shipyard.

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Source: eNCA