HONG KONG, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- A tanker loaded with liquefied petroleum gas was stubbornly burning and in potential danger of exploding Sunday off the coast of China.
The 34-man crew of the Panamanian-registered Gaz Poem abandoned ship after fire broke out in the engine room; however the British Broadcasting Corporation said the fire was still burning late Sunday.
"The fire is still on, but luckily in the back part of the ship, away from the cargo area," said Capt. Ravi Dewan, head of Hong Kong's Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre. "The bow of the ship is into the wind so the wind is pushing the fire to the back rather than towards the cargo area."
Dewan said that the volatile LPG cargo posed a serious threat of a "major, major explosion," but that such a behemoth blast would likely vaporize the entire cargo, if not the entire ship, eliminating any threat of long-term pollution.
Fireboats from Hong Kong and the mainland were cautiously battling the blaze in the tanker's superstructure while other vessels in the area were being kept well clear of the hazardous situation.
The Gaz Poem had been bound for Yan Ten and was 24 miles east of Hong Kong when the fire erupted. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
