The Diplomat
The explosion that occurred on Friday night in a cargo ship carrying coal off the port of Gibraltar, in the Bay of Algeciras, has left four injured, two of whom have been evacuated to a hospital in Seville.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, the explosion was caused by a Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship carrying coal.
The statement adds that the competent port authorities of the British colony and Algeciras have been in contact about the incident and, after the Maritime Captaincy of Algeciras offered the necessary assistance, the injured were transferred to a hospital in Seville, where they are receiving medical care.
For its part, the Gibraltar Information Service indicated that the Royal Gibraltar Police is investigating the explosion of the freighter ‘CSSC Cape Town’, which occurred at 11 pm Friday night and injured four crew members. The injured were treated on board the vessel by paramedics from the Gibraltar Health Authority and two of them were taken to St. Bernard’s Hospital on the Rock. From there they were transferred to the Seville Burn Unit, suffering burns of 40 and 25%, respectively.
The Gibraltarian authorities added that the ‘CSSC Cape Town’ is carrying 112,365 metric tons of coal and assured that the cargo does not represent a danger to the vessel or to other vessels in the vicinity. They added that the cargo is classified as non-hazardous under the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic.
