BINTULU: Two ship workers were killed and another seriously injured in an explosion onboard a supply vessel in the waters off Samalaju here on Friday night.
Bintulu police chief Superintendent Nixon Joshua Ali, in his statement today (Saturday), said the deceased were believed to be a 25-year-old sailor from Sibu, Sarawak, and a 36-year-old assistant engineer from Perak.
"Another victim is a local man aged 22 from Sabah, who reportedly sustained serious injuries in his face and hands," he said.
At the time of the incident, he said there were 16 crew members on board the vessel named MV Supply Amara
"The police received information regarding the incident at 2am today."
Nixon said at 10.40pm on Friday, all crew members of the ship belonging to an oil and gas company were startled by an explosion in the lower deck.
"All the shocked victims then proceeded to the site of the explosion and noticed that there was thick smoke coming from the engine room. The main door to the engine room had been blown out by the strong impact," Nixon said.
"Upon closer inspection, the workers found one victim with severe injuries, including burns on his face and hands, and two more were found dead," he added.
Nixon said police had categorised the case as a sudden death, stating that there were no indications of criminal elements involved at this point.
The bodies of both victims had been taken for post-mortem in Bintulu Hospital.
The public had been reminded not to speculate or spread unverified information about the incident as it might interfere with the investigation process.