Three members of a crew on an oil tanker sustained severe burn injuries as a fire broke out on the vessel on Karnaphuli river in Chittagong yesterday.
The vessel named OT Kingfisher-1, was laden with 8,650 tonnes of fuel of Jamuna Oil Limited, a state-owned petroleum marketing company.
The injured are Kamal Uddin, 32, Azmir Hossain, 35, and Mohammed Imon, 25.
They were admitted to Chittagong Medical College and Hospital and later shifted to Dhaka as their condition deteriorated.
Jashim Uddin, deputy assistant director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the fire originated from a gas cylinder leakage in the kitchen of the vessel around 9:10am.
The three sustained burn injuries as the fire rapidly engulfed the kitchen and a cabin adjacent. The three were present in the kitchen when the fire broke out, he added.
He said six of their fire-extinguishing units managed to douse the fire by 10:10am with the help of a vessel from the Chittagong Port and equipments of the Jamuna Oil Ltd.
However, the fuel reserved on the tanker remained intact, said Jashim.
Mrinal Kanti Das, chief at the burn unit of CMCH, said Kamal sustained 100% burn injuries while Azmir and Imon sustained 80% and 54% injuries respectively.
Three of them were in a critical state, he said.
Jahirul Islam, in-charge of a police outpost at CMCH, said the injured were shifted to Dhaka around 3pm. Sources at the Jamuna Oil Ltd said OT Kingfisher-1 was was scheduled to sail for Bagabari Depot in the morning today.