Authorities searching for the victims. Photo baolaodong.vn

LÂM ĐỒNG – Authorities recovered the body of a worker missing after an oil tanker fire off the coast of Lâm Đồng Province on the afternoon of April 30, about a day after the vessel caught fire and exploded.

The victim was identified as Phạm Trung Kiên, a resident of Hamlet 13 Liên Hương, Liên Hương Commune, Lâm Đồng Province, who had been working as an iron welder aboard the vessel. His body was found about 200 metres from the vessel, towards the shore. After legal procedures were completed, it was handed over to his family for burial.

The fire broke out on the morning of April 29 when residents in the coastal area of Hamlet 1 Bình Thạnh, Liên Hương Commune – formerly part of Tuy Phong District, Bình Thuận Province – heard two loud explosions from an oil tanker moored about 500 metres offshore. The vessel caught fire after the blasts, throwing two crew members into the sea. They were rescued by nearby fishermen and taken to Tuy Phong Regional Medical Centre, where they were treated for burns. Kiên was reported missing.

Liên Hương Commune police co-ordinated with local authorities and Border Guard forces to bring the fire under control and search for the missing worker. About 60 tonnes of fuel oil remained aboard at the time. The deck and cabin sustained damage, but the hull remained intact and no oil spill occurred.

The vessel, registered as Bth-0135, belongs to Đại Hoà private enterprise, which operates in the petroleum trading sector.

Initial investigations indicate the explosion was triggered when workers used a handheld cutting machine to repair a damaged section of the deck, igniting diesel oil vapours still present in the ship's hold. — VNS