One killed, four injured in Vietnam shipyard explosions

HANOI (AFP) - One man was killed and four seriously burnt, including a South Korean, in gas explosions at a Vietnamese shipyard, a company official said Wednesday.

Three Vietnamese technicians were burnt in a blast Tuesday after opening a gas pipeline on a ship under maintenance at the Hyundai-Vinashin shipyard, a South Korean-Vietnamese joint venture, said the company's administrative official, who did not wish to be named.

After taking out the injured, a South Korean and a Vietnamese officer from the company labour safety department returned to the vessel to inspect the accident site when a second explosion occurred.

"The second blast killed the 43-year-old Vietnamese while the South Korean official suffered serious injury," the official told AFP.

The shipyard in Van Phong Bay, in central Khanh Hoa province, builds and repairs vessels.