Tanker explodes off S Korea

Tanker explodes off S Korea

SEOUL (Reuters): A tanker exploded and sank off South Korea's southeastern port of Pusan on Monday, killing three crew and injuring seven, an official at the ship's charterer said.

"We can confirm three deaths and seven injuries from a crew of 16 as a result of the explosion," SK Shipping spokesman Hwang Shin said. Hwang said the coastguard and navy were searching for the remaining six crew who had been missing since the tanker sank near Koje Island.

The 9,800 DWT tanker P Harmony exploded in waters off Pusan around 9:55 a.m. (7:55 a.m. Jakarta time). The ship was en route to the southwestern port of Yosu from Ulsan where it unloaded a 9,000-tonne cargo of unleaded gasoline, Hwang said.

The gasoline cargo was loaded in Dalian, China, he added. Yonhap news ggency earlier reported the tanker unloaded bunker-C fuel, or shipping fuel. The tanker had been scheduled to load a cargo of about 9,000-tonnes of boiler kerosene at Yosu, Hwang said.