Five crewmen died in a fire following an explosion aboard a Bahamas-registered oil tanker Saturday in the port of Salamis near Athens, the Greek merchant marine ministry said.
"The five sailors were killed after they were trapped by a fire that broke out following an explosion in the hold of the vessel 'Sailor'," a ministry spokesman said.
Emergency services brought out one crew member dead, and fought vainly for two hours to rescue the other four.
The first engineer managed to escape from the hold and was hospitalized with burns.
The cause of explosion was not immediately known. The tanker was docked for repairs in the port of Salamis Island in the Gulf of Saronika -- ATHENS (AFP)
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