Refile: Tanker blast at Turkish port kills 1 Italian crew member, 15 injured

Petkim Petrokimya Holding

02/07/2019 10:32

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text)
    ANKARA, July 2 (Reuters) - An explosion at an LPG tanker
killed one Italian crew member and injured 15 others at the port
of Aliaga in Turkey's western Izmir province late on Monday,
petrochemicals maker Petkim said.
    The vessel was anchored at a harbour at the Petkim
 PETKM.IS  petrochemical plant operated by the Azerbaijani state
oil company SOCAR.
    Italian crew member Roberto Montegurdia died in the
incident, Aliaga province's sub-Governor Erhan Gunay told
reporters.
    "At Petkim Pier 5 around 23:20 (2020 GMT), a fire broke out
due to an unspecified reason during the connection to the
Italian flagged Synzania for the filling of liquid
hydrocarbons," Petkim said in a press statement.
    "As a result of the immediate intervention of our teams, the
fire was extinguished and cooling work on the ship is
continuing," it added.
    Shipping agency Tribeca said Petkim facility was closed for
operations as an investigation was carried out, while STAR
refinery remained open.
    "Petkim Aliaga is closed for port operations as the incident
is under investigation by the chief public prosecutor," Tribeca
said in an e-mail.

 (Reporting by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)
 ((ece.toksabay@tr.com; +90 312 2927022; Reuters Messaging:
ece.toksabay.reuters.com@reuters.net))