Authorities were searching off Australia's northwest coast on Monday for four crew blown off the top of a cargo ship after an onboard explosion killed three people. Police sergeant rob pope said that four boats were searching the sea near Dampier where the Hong Kong registered scrap metal carrier Nego Kim, owned by Wallem Ship Management Ltd, was anchored at the time of the explosion on Sunday afternoon. A crew of 23 Chinese nationals was on board the empty vessel, which was waiting about ten nautical miles (20 km) off the coast to come into Dampier port on Monday to pick up a load of scrap metal.
''We believe they went to start the engine and this caused a gas explosion in the cargo hold of such force that it blew the cargo doors off,'' Pope said.
''Two men below deck were killed, one other (was killed), and four on top were blown off. Another crew member was flown to Royal Perth Hospital with burns and is in a critical condition.''
He said that the extent of the damage was unknown but the vessel was not taking on water so the hull was believed to be intact.
Bad weather early on Monday hampered rescue efforts but Pope said that high winds had subsided by mid-morning and police had managed to board the ship.
They were now waiting for safety checks before attempting to fire up the engine and bring the vessel into port, while the search for the missing men continued.
Bureau Report