Oil Tanker Blast, Fire Kills Three In Russia's Daghestan

Smoke rises following a blast on an oil tanker in the port of Makhachkala on June 11.

Three sailors have been killed in an explosion on an oil tanker and subsequent fire in Russia's Caspian port of Makhachkala, officials say.

Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry branch in the North Caucasus region of Daghestan said that three people were hospitalized following the blast, which occurred early on June 11.

There were 12 people on board the vessel at the time of the blast.

The bodies of two dead sailors were recovered immediately after the explosion, while the third body was found hours later.

The tanker, which belongs to the Volga shipping company, had arrived in Makhachkala from Turkmenistan with 2,000 tons of oil on board.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax