4 go missing as oil tanker explodes

Four people suffered burn injuries and four others are missing after an oil tanker exploded on the Sugandha river in Jhalakathi yesterday afternoon.

There were nine people on board, and one of them was rescued unharmed, firefighters said.

The tanker, Sagar Nandini-2, with seven lakh litres of diesel and four lakh litres of petrol, was anchored near the ferry terminal of the town around 2:00pm when it suddenly went up in flames, witnesses said.

The cargo brought from Chattagram belonged to Padma Oil Company, said Shariful Islam, a marketing officer of the company.

The tanker exploded just before it was supposed to unload the cargo at a storage facility, he added.

Injured crew members Mainul Islam Hridoy, 25, Sakil Ahmed, 23, Faridul Islam Patoary, 60, and Ikbal Hossain, 27, were admitted to the burn unit at Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital.

The identities of the missing crew members could not be known, firefighters said.

Liton Ahmed, deputy assistant director of fire service in Barishal, said six teams of firefighters from Jhalakathi and nearby upazilas brought the fire under control after two hours and rescued the injured men.

It was too early to say what caused the explosion, he added.

The man rescued unharmed is in police custody, he said, adding that firefighters will continue to look for the missing men.

Sakil, one of the injured crew members, said the blast was so powerful that it sent the bridge of the tanker flying.