Stranded crew escape tanker inferno

Two people died on board the blazing Mesta

CONSTANTA, Romania -- Five sailors trapped aboard a blazing Bulgarian oil tanker have been rescued after the fire was extinguished.

The 75,000-tonne capacity tanker exploded on Monday just outside the Black Sea port of Constanta killing two of its crew members, the Reuters news agency reported.

Romanian coastguard officials told Reuters that the blaze had raged for 15 hours and confirmed that all the surviving 32 crew members from the Mesta were now safe on shore.

Romanian authorities also said they had no information about the cause of the explosion. The tanker was carrying no cargo but had 500 tonnes of fuel on board.

A source at the Maritime Shipping Administration in the Bulgarian port of Varna told Reuters the Mesta, which was built in 1974, had been waiting to dock in Constanta for repairs.

The explosion that started the fire at 11:06 a.m. (0806 GMT) was clearly audible from the shore, Constanta residents said.

Witnesses said a column of dense brown smoke had been billowing from the tanker, whose bow was pointing up out of the water as four tugboats with firefighting equipment drew alongside.

Rescuers told Reuters that 27 crew members escaped the blaze in a lifeboat and were picked up by rescue tugboats shortly after the explosion. Five sailors, including the captain, had remained trapped by the inferno.

Sailor killed in oil tanker blast
May 7, 2001

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