5 burnt, 4 missing after oil tanker blast in Jhalakathi

Five people were burnt and four remained missing after an explosion aboard an oil tanker in Jhalakathi, reports bdnews24.com.

.The incident occurred at 2:10 pm on Saturday near the Rajapur Village on the southern bank of the Sugandha River near the district town.

The Nandini-2 tanker was transporting petrol and diesel to the Padma Oil Depot in the town, said Mohidul Islam, additional police superintendent of Jhalakathi Sadar Circle.

Five teams of firefighters were trying to tame the blaze on the vessel. They were unable to say why the blast occurred.

There were nine crew members, including the vessel's master, on board. Five of them have been recovered with burn wounds.

Four of the wounded were named as Shakil, 35, Faridul Alam, 53, Iqbal Hone, 27, Mainul Islam Hridoy, 29. The fifth victim is a cook.

Four of them were taken to Barishal's Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital.

Four of the crew were still remaining missing.