Seven killed in explosion on bulker in Morocco

Authorities in Morocco have confirmed the deaths of seven people after a commercial vessel suffered an explosion and a subsequent fire off the country's Atlantic coast on Thursday, May 30.

Officials first learned of the incident shortly after 10:00 local time on Thursday when the crew of the Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier Toro Rosso reported an explosion and a blaze in the vessel's engine room while it was anchored eight nautical miles from the Port of Jorf Lasfar.

Search and rescue personnel initially recovered three bodies and evacuated over a dozen injured crewmembers from the stricken ship. Tragically, four individuals succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment in hospital, raising the incident's death toll to seven.

The latest update provided by local authorities stated that nine crewmembers were still in hospital while their companions who escaped injury are currently in the custody of port officials.

Toro Rosso was awaiting clearance to berth at the port to load phosphate fertiliser when the incident occurred.

An investigation into the probable causes of the explosion is ongoing.

At the time of the blast, the vessel had 28 crewmembers, most of whom were Syrian nationals.