Four crew members were killed when an explosion ripped through the engine room of an oil tanker in eastern Russia late Thursday, the Emergency Situation Ministry said Friday.

Three crew members were missing and six others were injured in the explosion, which happened when the oil tanker was unloading fuel near the Anabar river in the Yakutia republic at 9:15 p.m. Moscow time (1714 GMT) Thursday. Four of the wounded are in serious condition, the ministry said.

The Lenaneft-2061 tanker, carrying some 800 tons of petrol and 1,400 tons of diesel fuel, caught fire immediately after the explosion.

The blaze was extinguished at early Friday morning and no fuel leaks occurred.

A criminal investigation was launched into the accident and search for the three missing people is underway.

Source: Xinhua