The tanker Xing Long Zhou 569 suffered explosion, which lead to major fire on board, on some 115 nautical miles east off Qingdao, China.
The crew of board of the tanker sent distress signal and requested assistance by the local authorities. The fire extended to the whole superstructure and started spreading to the cargo deck.
3 people reported missing, 13 rescued:
Salvage ships Bei Hai Jiu 112 and Bei Hai Jiu 201 were dispatched to the scene of the accident, as well as helicopter, which airlifted 13 of the 16 crew members. Another 3 people from the crew of burning tanker were missing after the explosion.
The authorities organized search and rescue operation for the missing people.
Towed for maintenance:
The salvage tugs started firefighting and succeeded to extinguish the flames after several hours.
The tanker Xing Long Zhou 569 was towed to Shidao Port for maintenance and investigations into the incident.
The root cause of the fire will be assessed during the next days, but currently local authorities are not revealing more details about the accident.
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Source: Vesseltracker
