A Panama-flagged cargo ship suddenly burst into flames off the southern Vietnamese resort city of Vung Tau on Sunday, but its crew of 20, including three Vietnamese, was rescued safely by local forces.

>> An audio version of the story is available here The blaze started at about 3:00 am when the ship, the Golden 168, was anchored off the city’s Bai Truoc beach, carrying 6,600 tons of copra on board. The fire reportedly broke out in cargo hold No. 1. After being informed of the incident, the Vung Tau Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center, the Vung Tau Port Authority, the local border guard command, and fire-fighting police deployed forces to the scene. All 20 crew members aboard the ship, including 11 Myanmarese, five Chinese, one Bangladeshi, and three Vietnamese, were taken ashore safely. The fire was put out at 9:00 am the same day. Their ship had anchored off Vung Tau while sailing from Singapore to Hong Kong. Competent agencies are investigating the cause of the fire. Vung Tau, which is about 100km from Ho Chi Minh City, is a seaside city of the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau.

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