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Blast catches 2 ships on fire in Kerch Strait, killing at least 10

By Danielle Haynes
One of two cargo ships burs in the Kerch Strait between the Crimean and Russian borders in the Black Sea on Monday. Photo courtesy of Kerch.FM/EPA-EFE
One of two cargo ships burs in the Kerch Strait between the Crimean and Russian borders in the Black Sea on Monday. Photo courtesy of Kerch.FM/EPA-EFE

Jan. 21 (UPI) -- Two Tanzania-flagged cargo ships erupted in fire Monday in the Black Sea, killing at least 10 people and prompting Russian rescuers searching for survivors.

One of the ships, a gas tanker, was transferring fuel to the second vessel near the Kerch Straight when an explosion caused a fire. The fire then moved to the second ship.

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A spokesman for Russia's Federal Agency of Sea and River Transport told state-run news agency Tass that one of the vessels was a liquefied natural gas carrier.

The BBC reported that one of the vessels, the Kandy, carried 17 crew members while the Maestro with 14 crew members. The crew members from both ships were from Turkey and India.

The explosion happened while the two vessels were sailing in neutral waters near Ukraine and Russia.

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