One dead, five injured as fire causes explosion on board chemical tanker off Tanjung Dawai (Updated)

GEORGE TOWN: A fire and explosion on board a tanker late Monday night resulted in the death of a Burmese crewman.
The explosion and resulting fire also injured five others during the 10.05pm incident near the Tanjung Dawai coast at Kedah.
theSun learned the deceased has been identified as Tha Tun while the victims are aged between 28 and 58.
Penang Port Sdn Bhd Acting CEO Rosihan Adi Baharuddin said the port received a distress call from the Heung-A Pioneer stating an explosion occurred and requested medical assistance.
He said the Penang Fire and Rescue Services Department, Civil Defence Department, Seberang Jaya Hospital and police were alerted following the call.
Rosihan said the ship arrived at the Butterworth Wharves of the Penang Port at about 12.05am today.
He said the captain reported that the fire had started in the middle of the deck, causing the explosion.
Rosihan said medical personnel boarded the ship and confirmed the death of one crew member and to treat the wounded.
"By 4am, the remaining five victims, comprising Korean and Myanmar nationals were brought to the hospital for further treatment," he said in a statement.
Rosihan added the cause of the fire was still under investigation while the incident did not affect the port operations.
Attempts to speak to the surviving crew members being treated at the Seberang Jaya Hospital were not successful as theSun was barred from interviewing them.
According to shipspotting.com, a ship tracking website, the Heung-A Pioneer is a chemical tanker with a gross tonnage of 8,271 tonnes.
The 125m long ship is owned by Heung-A Shipping, a Seoul-based company and was built in 2008 while an email to the company seeking their response on the incident was not replied to at the time of writing.