One person dead as oil tanker catches fire off Hong Kong

At least one person is dead after an oil tanker caught fire south of one of Hong Kong’s main islands.

The fire broke out aboard a vessel transporting kerosene as it passed near Lamma Island around 11:30 a.m. local time, a police spokeswoman told CNN.

The vessel, registered in Vietnam, was the oil and chemical tanker Aulac Fortune. It caught fire about one nautical mile south of Lamma Island.

Crew on board jumped into the water as the fire engulfed the ship, 21 of whom had now been rescued by marine police boats, the spokeswoman said. One dead body was also pulled out of the water.

Police could not confirm reports there had been an explosion before the fire.

CNN reports that “Residents of Lamma and nearby Lantau Island reported hearing a loud bang and hearing their windows and other furniture shake. “My windows shook really badly but (there) was no wind,”

Lamma resident Deb Lindsay said on Facebook. “I thought there had been an earthquake!”