INDONESIAN OIL TANKER EXPLOSION KILLS 4

An oil tanker that had just unloaded its cargo exploded on a Sumatran river Wednesday, killing four crew members, police said.

The MT Maulana had delivered a load of diesel fuel and was returning to port in the afternoon when the explosion occurred, said police investigator Darul Qotnu.

He said firefighters battled the blaze for two hours to bringing it under control. An electrical problem ignited fuel, touching off the blast.


Qotnu said the captain and 11 other survivors were being questioned by authorities.

Tugboats towed the charred wreckage of the 1,500-ton ship, leased by Indonesian state-owned oil giant PT Pertamina, out of traffic lanes on the Siak river, which connects the regional port directly to the Malacca Strait, one of the world´s busiest waterways.

The incident occurred about 560 miles northwest of the capital of Jakarta.

Source: The Associated Press.