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Rhiannon12866

(203,037 posts)
Thu May 29, 2014, 04:14 AM May 2014

Japan oil tanker explodes off SW coast; 1 missing

Source: USA Today

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese oil tanker exploded Thursday off the country's southwest coast near Himeji port, leaving one of the eight people aboard missing, the coast guard said. Four others were severely injured.

Photos and video from the scene showed billowing clouds of black smoke as coast guard vessels sought to douse the fire, which gutted the middle of the Shoko Maru, a 998-ton tanker based in the western city of Hiroshima.

Seven people were rescued, though four suffered severe burns, public broadcaster NHK reported. A search was underway for the missing man, the tanker's captain, it said.

The cause of the explosion was unclear, said coast guard spokesman Koji Takarada. NHK said crew members were working on the deck of the tanker at the time of the blast.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2014/05/29/japan-tanker-explodes/9705851/?



Images from scene showed clouds of black smoke as authorities sought to put out fire

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Japan oil tanker explodes off SW coast; 1 missing (Original Post) Rhiannon12866 May 2014 OP
jesus, what a fucking mess davidpdx May 2014 #1
Agreed! Together with Fukushima, this couldn't get much worse... Rhiannon12866 May 2014 #2
Fortunately, it had already offloaded its cargo Cooley Hurd May 2014 #3
perhaps fumes from the empty ship got ignited. olddad56 May 2014 #8
Japan is really busy arikara May 2014 #4
The whole world is busy "fouling its nest" Art_from_Ark May 2014 #7
I know. arikara May 2014 #9
Per gCaptain.com, she has sunk... Cooley Hurd May 2014 #5
Oh no! Thanks for the update! Rhiannon12866 May 2014 #6

davidpdx

(22,000 posts)
1. jesus, what a fucking mess
Thu May 29, 2014, 05:37 AM
May 2014

Japan is such a beautiful country and these man made disasters are killing the environment.

Rhiannon12866

(203,037 posts)
2. Agreed! Together with Fukushima, this couldn't get much worse...
Thu May 29, 2014, 05:43 AM
May 2014

And it's going to affect generations to come.

 

Cooley Hurd

(26,877 posts)
3. Fortunately, it had already offloaded its cargo
Thu May 29, 2014, 06:51 PM
May 2014

...and was empty. However, the black, billowing smoke is troubling. Unless it's from the oil residue caked on the sides of the hold?

 

Cooley Hurd

(26,877 posts)
5. Per gCaptain.com, she has sunk...
Thu May 29, 2014, 08:27 PM
May 2014
http://gcaptain.com/oil-tanker-explodes-japan/

Update: The vessel has reportedly sunk due to damages sustained. Akihiro Komura, a spokesperson from the vessel owner Syoho Shipping Co. was quoted by the AFP as saying, ““I heard that a crew member was using a grinder to remove paint and that seems to have triggered the blast, which we believe could have occurred when the remnants of the oil caught fire.

“It is a Japanese ship and belongs to our company. All the crew members are Japanese nationals. We have confirmed seven out of the eight are alive and one, believed to be the captain, is still missing.”

Four crewmembers are reported to have sustained serious burns in the explosion.


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