At least 13 people were killed and 50 injured when fire broke out aboard a disused oil tanker near Bangladesh's Chittagong port on Wednesday, police and fire officials said. The exact cause of the fire on the 400,000 dwt tanker, M.T. Dena, which was at a ship-breaking yard, is not yet known.
Witnesses said the fire followed a big explosion that tore off part of the tanker while workers were dismantling it using gas torches.
Police said the blaze was under control and a rescue operation was under way. The death count could rise, they added.
Bangladeshi shipbreakers Z.N. Enterprise bought the disused tanker from an Iranian company a few months ago, yard officials said.