Tanker Ship Explosion Kills 3 Indian Sailors Off Nigeria

Nigerian maritime authorities have reported that a Liberian-flagged ship has exploded off the coast of Lagos, killing three Indian sailors, with two still unaccounted for.

A spokeswoman for the Nigerian Maritime Administration, Lami Tumaka, told Associated Press on Thursday there was an explosion on Sunday off the coast, confirming the vessel as the MT Jacksonville.  She added that the ship exploded after it had leaked a currently unknown substance into the ocean, citing a big explosion in the engine room, spurring fires aboard the vessel.

The MT Jacksonville had twelve crewmembers total on board at the time of the explosion.  Ten of those crewmembers have been confirmed alive and suffering from various degrees of burn wounds and were transported to a hospital at the Apapa port in Nigera.  Authorities also unfortunately recovered the bodies of three Indian men who were declared dead.  Lami Tumaka added that the two remaining sailors from the Jacksonville are still missing.

It is not immediately certain what caused the explosion to occur, but the Times of India has reported that the French-based company operating nearby, Total Oil Company , said the accident was caused by a crane collapsing onto the ship.

The Nigerian Maritime Administration is the entity responsible for rescue operations on their territorial waters.