Explosion on Ship Kills at Least 9 in Malaysia

At least nine shipyard workers burned to death Wednesday in a fire aboard a cargo vessel in southern Malaysia, officials and witnesses said.

The ship was under repair at the Pasir Gudang port about 220 miles south of Kuala Lumpur, the capital, said Roslina Razlan, spokeswoman for Malaysian Shipyard & Engineering Co.

Witnesses said they heard an explosion aboard the vessel about 10 a.m. The blast apparently caused a fire that trapped the workers.

Firefighters put out the blaze and recovered the bodies of at least nine men, witnesses said. Those killed were believed to have been welders.

Officials sealed off the dockyard, and the company said it would issue a statement later.

Witnesses at the government-run Sultanah Aminah Hospital in the city of Johor Baharu said several ambulances arrived with bodies from the port. Dozens of relatives had gathered.

Some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition, witnesses said.

It was not immediately known how many people were working on the ship when the explosion occurred.

Pasir Gudang is at the southernmost tip of peninsular Malaysia, separated by a narrow strip of water from Singapore. It is a popular port that handles mostly bulk cargo, especially palm oil.