China says still investigating cause of deadly cargo ship fire

BEIJING: China was still investigating on Friday (Sep 11) the cause of a fire on a foreign-flagged cargo ship which killed 25 people a day earlier, state media said.

The bulk carrier, moored in the eastern shipping port of Qingdao, had 42 people on board when the fire broke out on Thursday morning, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

Seventeen of those were evacuated, including five who were injured, while another 25 people died in the blaze.

On Friday, CCTV said that investigators had yet to determine the exact cause of the fire.

Firefighter Hao Xiang, whose face was partly blackened from smoke, told CCTV that "inside the ship's hold, it was extremely hot".

"When the hot steam came out, it melted away all the old oil grime that had built up on the ship, making it very slippery to walk on."

Another firefighter, who was not named, told CCTV that he recorded the temperature of the blaze.

"When I scanned the area with the infrared thermometer, the temperature was around 85 degrees (Celsius) ... The place was ablaze, the flames were rising from the bottom", he said, recalling "a distinct smell of diesel".

Experts from across the country had gathered in Qingdao to analyse the scene, state media said.

State media pictures showed dozens of rescue workers at the scene, with fire engines and trucks lined up along the port.

One CCTV video posted on social media showed a fire and rescue worker guiding a reporter inside the stricken ship, pointing out some fire-damaged equipment and white ash.

The fire broke out around 11.15am (3.15am GMT) on Thursday and was extinguished by 2.30pm, according to state media.

A witness from a neighbouring residential compound told AFP he had seen thick smoke coming from the ship, but did not hear an explosion.

Although the ship has not been officially identified, videos and pictures show the ship has the name Ocean Melody emblazoned on the front.

Ocean Melody is a 190m-long bulk carrier sailing under the Liberian flag, according to the vessel-tracking website MarineTraffic, which located the ship as moored in Qingdao.