Cyprus rescues five crew after explosion on oil tanker

Cyprus police rescued five injured crew from the water following an explosion on a Maltese-flagged oil tanker off the island’s south coast on Saturday, authorities said.

Two Indian crew were taken to the capital Nicosia for treatment for burns of between 30 and 70 percent, the head of the Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), Andreas Charalambides, told reporters.

The other three, all Greek citizens, had symptoms of hypothermia and were briefly hospitalised in the island’s main port of Limassol before being discharged, he said.

The remaining crew managed to put out the fire but the Athlos tanker was listing some 200 metres off the fishing village of Zygi, the JRCC said.

The ship was carrying around 100 tonnes of fuel for its own use but the rescue centre scrambled boats to contain any oil spill. There was no other dangerous cargo on board.

The Athlos had been headed from the island to Greece with a crew of 17 — one Georgian, seven Greeks and nine Indians.
Source: AFP