Three dead, two injured and four missing are the toll of a fire following the explosion, due to causes under investigation, which took place inside a tugboat docked on the quay in the port of Crotone, in Calabria. Two bodies were found on the dock while the third victim was thrown into the sea and recovered by some boats. The four, due to the outbreak, ended up in the sea. Their searches are underway by the divers of the fire brigade, who immediately intervened on the spot. One of the injured was taken to hospital while another is reportedly in fair condition. The victims and the injured are all foreigners, members of the crew of the boat, which flies a foreign flag.
Perhaps a welder at the origin of the explosion
The explosion would have occurred in the tugboat’s engine room and not in a container, as assumed at first. According to what emerged from the first investigations by the fire brigade, it was the cylinder of a welding machine that the victims were using to carry out some work to explode. The rescue operations were coordinated by the provincial fire brigade commander of Crotone, engineer Giuseppe Bennardo.
«Dead and injured at the port of Crotone due to the explosion of a container following a fire on a tugboat. The Calabria Region expresses condolences to the families of the victims. Thanks to the rescuers and firefighters for their precious intervention ». Roberto Occhiuto, president of the Calabria Region writes on Twitter.