One dead, another in hospital after N.L. tanker fire
( Picture From Environment Canada)
The Canadian Press
Saturday, April 08, 2006
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - One man is dead following a fire on an oil tanker more than a kilometre off Newfoundland.
Coast Guard officials say the man was pronounced dead aboard the Kometik, which services the Hibernia offshore oil platform.
Another man was taken to a St. John's hospital with burns to half of his body.
The two crew members were plucked from the tanker in Conception Bay after a fire broke out Saturday morning.
The fire was out by the time the men were airlifted.
Lieut. Sonia Connock, a search-and-rescue spokeswoman in Halifax, could not offer details about the fire.
A Cormorant helicopter from Gander, N.L., and a civilian helicopter from St. John's were dispatched to the area.
More Info From CBC:
One man has died and another was in critical condition in hospital after a fire broke out on an oil tanker off the coast of Newfoundland on Saturday.
The names and ages of the men have not been released.
However, the deceased was an employee of Canship Ugland Ltd., which operates the vessel. The other man was airlifted to hospital.
The fire began shortly before noon on the MV Kometik, a tanker that services the Hibernia offshore oil platform.
A coast guard spokesman said 30 people were on the Kometik, which was anchored a kilometre off shore in Conception Bay.
Capt. Sid Hynes, chairman of Canship Ugland, said the fire started in a cargo area of the vessel, where the two men had been working. Cause of the fire was not known.
The blaze was quickly put out, but the rescue was hampered by smoke and heat, Hynes said.
The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and the federal Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
