Sailor killed, three injured in blast on tanker

A Spanish sailor was killed on Thursday and three more seamen were injured in an explosion on a tanker anchored in the port of Drepano, in the prefecture of Achaia.

Of the three sailors who were hurt, one remained in critical condition at a nearby hospital last night while the injuries sustained by the other two were said not to be life-threatening.

The exact cause of the blast remained unclear. But according to sources the explosion occurred as the seamen were opening the hold of the Kosmas V, a Panama-flagged cargo vessel that had been moored next to the Titan cement factory at Drepano.

The vessel was loaded with lignite from South Africa, according to local reports.