Tanker catches fire at Greek port

At least one worker was killed when a tanker ship caught fire while undergoing repairs near Athens Monday.

The fire broke out during welding work in the hull of the Panama-flagged tanker Ailsa Craig, at Perama docks, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Athens, the fire service said.

More than two dozen firefighters and rescuers were involved in trying to extinguish the blaze.

"It was hell down there, so much smoke ... we didn't get oxygen tanks quickly enough to get to the men in the hull," welder Stelios Georgopoulos, who helped recover the dead worker's body, told The Associated Press.

Dock workers union representative Sotiris Poulikoyiannis blamed poor safety standards at the facility for the death.

"What we're hoping is that workers at this plant will wake up one day and feel sure that they'll return to their families at night," he said.

Subscribe to Pravda.Ru Telegram channel, Facebook, RSS!

Author`s name Angela Antonova
*
X