Five dead after tanker explodes

The 6,536 dwt South Korea-flagged Doola No 3 was carrying 11 South Korean crew and five Burmese nationals when the blast tore through the ship.

The South Korea coastguard confirmed the five deaths and said that six crew members were missing. Five people were rescued.

Doola No 3, owned by South Korea’s Doola Shipping, is now partly submerged.

The vessel was sailing towards Daesan on the country’s west coast, after unloading 6,500 tonnes of gasoline at Incheon.

A Doola Shipping official told the Yonhap news agency: “We believe that something went wrong during the process to take out remaining gas in the oil tank.”

Doola No 3 usually transports fuel oil and the company is examining whether the explosion is linked to the change in cargo.

The vessel was carrying 80 tonnes of fuel oil and 40 tonnes of diesel fuel at the time of the blast. No pollution has been reported.

The South Korean coastguard dismissed speculation that the explosion was due to sabotage from North Korea, saying that the vessel was too far south from that country’s waters.

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