A fire aboard a chemical tanker anchored at the Port of Yeosu has left one man dead, after the blaze spread to a nearby delivery vessel in the early hours of Saturday.
The captain of the smaller ship, a man in his 50s, was killed in the fire despite efforts to evacuate all crew members.
The incident was first reported at about 01:00 on Saturday morning when a blaze broke out on an unidentified chemical tanker.
The fire quickly leapt to a 24-tonne delivery vessel moored alongside, though it remains unclear whether a transfer of chemicals was under way at the time.
The tanker was carrying 2 500 tonnes of hazardous chemicals and 100 tonnes of fuel, raising fears of a potential explosion.
Yeosu Fire Department deployed 15 firefighting vessels to contain the flames and avert a wider disaster.
A total of 18 crew members were evacuated from both vessels – 14 from the tanker and four from the delivery ship. Two Myanmar nationals serving on the tanker sustained injuries, one of them critical.
Fire crews succeeded in extinguishing the blaze on the delivery vessel by 03:17, and the tanker fire was brought under control by 07:45. Both ships are now subject to detailed inspections.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the fire as they work to establish the circumstances behind the fatal incident.
