Four killed in Yangon oil-tanker blast

Published on Monday, 04 February 2013 22:32

At least four people were killed and four injured in the evening of Monday when an oil tanker owned by Myawaddy Trading Company caught fire and sank in Hlaing river in Yangon, officials said.

The tanker was docked at a jetty owned by military-controlled Myanmar Economic Holdings when the blast happened in a suburban area of the city. The cause was unclear.

"We found four bodies so far, and the search is still under way. Although the cause is still unclear, the blast happened when the tanker was docked at the jetty to transfer the oil to another tanker," said Myo Aung, a senior police officer concerning the scene.

It took half an hour to put out the fire, said a fire department official at the scene.

More than 40 firefighting vehicles were used to put out the huge fire, said Thin Htay Shwe, an official from Fire Service Department.

 “Almost all the firefighting vehicles from the whole Yangon Region were deployed to put out the fire,”

The huge fire also destroyed three boats, a wooden jetty and some logs on the jetty close by.