Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Colombia shipyard blasts kill six: officials

-

Explosions at a shipyard in Colombia killed at least six people, including one on the premises of a US company, and injured 23 others on Wednesday, officials said.

The blasts struck at the shipyard in the Caribbean port of Cartagena, where police were "investigating whether it was an accident or an attack," a source in the force told AFP.

"There were three explosions, two of them at the same spot," a spokeswoman for the local fire service said.

She said two of the blasts struck US shipbuilder Astivik. The third rocked the premises of Colombian naval corporation Cotecmar.

Authorities did not immediately clarify how many died at each site.

Firefighters put out blazes caused by the explosions, the spokeswoman told AFP.

The shipyards lie in an industrial zone some 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the tourist center of Cartagena.

Cotecmar's president Jorge Enrique Carreno told reporters one of the blasts was in a tanker vessel that was undergoing maintenance.

Officials speculated that the blast may have been caused by the ignition of gas inside vessels in the shipyard.

Explosions at a shipyard in Colombia killed at least six people, including one on the premises of a US company, and injured 23 others on Wednesday, officials said.

The blasts struck at the shipyard in the Caribbean port of Cartagena, where police were “investigating whether it was an accident or an attack,” a source in the force told AFP.

“There were three explosions, two of them at the same spot,” a spokeswoman for the local fire service said.

She said two of the blasts struck US shipbuilder Astivik. The third rocked the premises of Colombian naval corporation Cotecmar.

Authorities did not immediately clarify how many died at each site.

Firefighters put out blazes caused by the explosions, the spokeswoman told AFP.

The shipyards lie in an industrial zone some 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the tourist center of Cartagena.

Cotecmar’s president Jorge Enrique Carreno told reporters one of the blasts was in a tanker vessel that was undergoing maintenance.

Officials speculated that the blast may have been caused by the ignition of gas inside vessels in the shipyard.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

Life

US troops are found in almost every country on the planet, with some places having a greater concentration of soldiers than others.

Tech & Science

An imposter posing as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent AI-generated voice and text messages to high-level officials and foreign ministers.

Business

German exports to the United States plummeted in May, official data showed.

World

Passengers at US airports will no longer have to remove their shoes to pass through security.