1 Dies in Fire at Central Japan Shipyard

Shizuoka, Aug. 21 (Jiji Press)--A man in his 40s believed to be a Chinese national died in a fire that broke out in a tanker at a shipyard in the central Japan city of Shizuoka on Friday.

Around 8:50 a.m., local fire authorities received an emergency call from an employee reporting that the inside of a ship had caught fire at the shipyard operated by Kanasashi Heavy Industries Co. based in the city in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Nine other people were taken to hospital after suffering smoke inhalation, but all were conscious. The fire was extinguished about three hours later.

According to the Shizuoka prefectural police, 17 people were working inside a 955-ton tanker at the shipyard when the fire broke out. Of them, two workers were using a burner for welding work at the lower part of the bow. A glove worn by one of the two is believed to have caught fire, which may have caused the blaze inside the tanker.

The police are investigating the cause of the fire and other details.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]