Three people are confirmed dead while another two have been reported missing following an explosion and a subsequent fire on board a commercial tanker in the waters off Indonesia's East Java province on Thursday, March 13.
The incident on the locally-registered tanker Ronggolawe 09 occurred at around 06:00 local time on Thursday as it was transferring some of its cargo of diesel to the tug Rosalyn 08.
The fire on Ronggolawe 09 eventually spread to Rosalyn 08, forcing the crews of both vessels to jump into the water to escape injury.
The firefighting efforts on both vessels were successfully concluded later in the day on Thursday. However, an official of the country's Directorate General of Sea Transportation said that three of the tanker's crew perished in the incident while two others were still unaccounted for as of Saturday, March 15.
Some of the surviving tanker crewmembers suffered burn injuries, though none are believed to be life-threatening.
Ronggolawe 09 has since been towed to a beach near a shipyard in East Java's Lamongan Regency while the search for the four missing sailors continues. Assisting in the search are vessels despatched by oil companies ExxonMobil and Pertamina.
An initial investigation revealed that the explosion on the tanker was triggered by an electrical short in one of the onboard compartments.
Local officials said the transfer of fuel between the two vessels was illicit as it had been undertaken without proper authorisation.