One person has been killed and several six others have been injured after an oil tanker exploded in the Taiwan Strait.
A blast was reported on the Chuang Yi vessel, located almost 200 miles east of the south Chinese city of Hong Kong, at about 4pm on Saturday.
According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), one person was killed in the explosion – which sparked a fire on board the tanker – and six others were injured.
Emergency service helicopters were dispatched to evacuate injured crew, with the first aircraft arriving on the scene at around 7pm.
By the time rescue teams reached the vessel, the fire had been contained but some workers had sustained serious burns, including one person who suffered second-degree burns to 30% of his body, the SCMP reported.
Several of the injured workers, who are from Indonesia and Myanmar, are believed to be in a serious condition, according to reports online.
The Hong Kong Government Flying Services says it was notified of an explosion at 4:05 pm on an oil tanker in waters 186 miles to the east of the city.
A government spokesperson said that, as of Saturday night, it was not known what caused the blow out on the Chuang Yi.
It is also unclear whether there have been any oil spills as a result of the explosion.
There were thirteen workers aboard the vessel when the incident happened, according to the Government Flying Services.
Those who were uninjured remained on board the tanker, which had lost power.
According to vessel tracker website Marine Traffic, the 5,547-tonne Chuang Yi vessel was built in 2000.
It measures 119 meters long, 17.8m wide and is sailing under the flag of Panama.
Last week a bunker vessel sunk offshore Tunisia, raising the risk of a major diesel spill in the Gulf of Gabes.
The tanker was carrying 750 tonnes of diesel.