BATU PAHAT, Dec 15 — Six crew members were injured at sea in an explosion involving a gas tanker and a pilot boat at five nautical miles southwest of Pulau Sialu near here yesterday.
The 6pm incident was relayed to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) via a distress call from the victims.
Batu Pahat MMEA maritime zone director Commander Mohamad Othman said the agency deployed five personnel immediately after receiving the incident report.
“As soon as we arrived, we found that an explosion had occurred on the pilot boat that was docked beside the gas tanker that was transferring items.
“Four crewmen from the pilot boat and two others from the tanker, aged between 29 and 48, suffered burn injuries due to exposure to the explosion,” he said in a statement today.
The victims were taken to the Batu Pahat Maritime Zone jetty and put in an ambulance to Sultanah Nora Ismail Hospital here for further treatment.
The MMEA said the cause of the incident is still under investigation by the agency’s Batu Pahat Maritime Zone.
