12 saved, 2 missing as Panama tanker burns on Yangtze

SHANGHAI: A Panama LPG tanker exploded into flames in the river estuary of the Yangtze, or Changjiang, at 10:35 pm on Sunday. As of Monday morning, of all the 14 crew, 12 had been saved by Chinese rescue workers while the two others were still missing.

The saved crew include 11 Filipinos and one Myanmarese, and the two missing are both Filipinos, the ship's mechanic and second engineer.

The Shanghai-based Donghai Rescue Bureau was attempting to control the fire Sunday morning.

The Panamanian LPG tanker "Golden Crux 18" (95 meters long and 15 meters wide) was on its journey from Nantong in Jiangsu Province to the Republic of Korea for LPG loading when the accident happened.

The first rescue boat was sent at around 23:50 pm Sunday night. The 12 survivors were found about 20 minutes later.