A Vietnamese fishing boat, carrying 16 fishermen, caught fire in the area of the Hoang Sa Islands on June 10.
A same acccident happened in Nha Trang City in 2013
At 9:15pm, a fishing vessel, owned by Nguyen Chi Thanh, from Quang Ngai Province, suddenly burst into flames. The fire was internally caused, by a cooking gas explosion. Although the boat sank, there were no fatalities.
Fortunately, a navy ship was within range and could come to the assistance of the fishermen. They were taken to Ly Son Island.
Captain Nguyen Chi Thanh said, "Nobody was within the vicinity of the explosion so there were not many injuries. But the boat sunk so quickly that we didn't have time to find out the cause of the explosion."
Nguyen Quoc Chinh, Chairman of An Hai Commune Fisheries Trade Union, said that only one out of the 16 fishermen aboard suffered from serious injury.
The initial cause is presumed to have been an electrical shortage near the hold, which contains thousands of litres of oil. However, the any final conclusions still pend on the results of the investigation.
