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Boat blast kills 5 Chinese workers in Nigeria

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-15 08:43

LAGOS -- An official with the Chinese Consulate-General in Lagos confirmed that five Chinese crew members were killed in a fishing boat explosion in Nigerian economic hub Lagos on Monday night.

Another member, who narrowly escaped the mishap, sustained serious injures on his right ankle.

According to the official, the victims are all Chinese sailors working for the fishing company, but their identification remains unknown unless rescue facilities arrived to uncover their bodies, which have still been confined inside the sunken ship.

The Chinese owner of the fishing boat, surnamed Zheng, said that the blast happened to the ship's engine cabin when the five crew members were trying to start the boat for a new journey.

He said the consequent fire lasting for about seven hours would have dismissed any hope of his sailors' survival.

It was learnt that the reason of the accident is still under investigation, and reporters at the scene were promised to be informed as soon as results come out.  

The injured worker has been sent to hospital to receive medical treatment, while the body-uncovering job has still not been seen by now.