Tanker Blast at Turkish Port Kills 1 Crewmember

An explosion at an LPG tanker killed one Italian crew member and injured 15 others at the port of Aliaga in Turkey's western Izmir province late on Monday, petrochemicals maker Petkim said.

The vessel was anchored at a harbour at the Petkim petrochemical plant operated by the Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR.

Italian crew member Roberto Montegurdia died in the incident, Aliaga province's sub-Governor Erhan Gunay told reporters.

"At Petkim Pier 5 around 23:20 (2020 GMT), a fire broke out due to an unspecified reason during the connection to the Italian flagged Synzania for the filling of liquid hydrocarbons," Petkim said in a press statement.

"As a result of the immediate intervention of our teams, the fire was extinguished and cooling work on the ship is continuing," it added.

Shipping agency Tribeca said Petkim facility was closed for operations as an investigation was carried out, while STAR refinery remained open.

"Petkim Aliaga is closed for port operations as the incident is under investigation by the chief public prosecutor," Tribeca said in an e-mail. 

Reporting by Ece Toksabay