Five people have been killed and around 11 others wounded after a blast occurred, caused by a fire on a ship undergoing maintenance at India’s Cochin Shipyard Limited, a company spokeswoman said.
Smoke hampered rescue operations initially and an investigation would be launched soon, she added.
A Reuters report says quoting the official that the ship belongs to the country’s top energy explorer, Oil and Natural Gas Corp Limited.
An ONGC official said the ship was under repair at state-run Cochin Shipyard on the country’s southwest coast.
The blast took place inside the water tank, said M P Dinesh, a senior police official in the southern state of Kerala where the shipyard is located.
“The casualties occurred in the smoke that spilled out from the tank, according to preliminary information,” he told reporters.
“All the people trapped in the ship have been evacuated. The situation is under control now.”