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An inquiry found that safety practices were ignored when repairs were carried out on the vessel. Sparks from the cutting torch used during repairs caused a fire, which ignited an explosive vapour mixture within the aft starboard bunker (fuel) tank of the vessel. The fuel tank had been contaminated by
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Rescue workers went into the ship's engine and boiler rooms to search for missing workers. Eight fire engines and ambulances rushed to the scene and after the fire was doused, more rescue workers poured into the ship to help the injured and remove the dead. The injured were ferried to hospital in
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arrived in
Singapore for a full special survey and general repairs at Jurong Shipyard. One of the items for repair was the replacement of the missing cover for the drip tray of the vent pipe leading from the aft starboard fuel oil tank.
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crude oil. The explosion ruptured the common bulkhead between the tank and the engine room, releasing the burning oil into the engine room and setting it on fire, killing the workers there instantly.
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Minutes after the accident, an extensive rescue operation swung into action, involving the police, military and medical services. All hospitals were alerted to be on stand-by for casualties.
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57 workers died on the day of the accident while 19 died due to their injuries in hospitals. Of the 76 deaths, 70 were male, six were female. 69 other workers were injured.
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After the accident, greater safety consciousness in the shipbuilding and repairing industry was enforced.
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rooms of the vessel after their lunch break for repair and cleaning work. A number of the ship's 32
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411:"The explosion and fire on board S.T. Spyros, 12th October 1978 : the inquiry report"
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and operated by
International Operations, SA. The Liberian-registered vessel was built by
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of Japan in 1964 and was a steam turbine-driven tanker of 64,081 tons deadweight.
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The general public responded with hundreds of people donating blood to victims.
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that prevented dockside workers from rescuing those trapped inside the ship.
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exploded. The explosion occurred as about 150 workers returned to the
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vessel as far as 100 metres (328 ft) away and started a
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385:"Hundreds join rush to give blood to injured"
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191:was owned by Ulysses Tanker Corporation of
274:The wounded were ferried by ambulance and
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16:1978 industrial explosion in Singapore
7:
409:Singapore, National Library Board.
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477:Transport disasters in Singapore
482:Maritime incidents in Singapore
335:Collapse of the Hotel New World
162:on 12 October 1978, where the
1:
436:"Spyros accident | Infopedia"
355:"48 die in ship blast horror"
263:ambulances and helicopters.
522:1978 disasters in Singapore
502:October 1978 events in Asia
215:At around 2:15 p.m.,
197:Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
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284:Singapore General Hospital
472:1978 industrial disasters
33:October 6, 1978
359:Singapore Press Holdings
487:Explosions in Singapore
202:On 6 October 1978, the
154:was a major industrial
512:1978 disasters in Asia
440:eresources.nlb.gov.sg
389:eresources.nlb.gov.sg
231:were also on board.
507:1970s fires in Asia
415:eservice.nlb.gov.sg
104:1.2800°N 103.6483°E
100: /
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467:Explosions in 1978
365:on 12 January 2008
312:Causes of accident
280:Alexandra Hospital
138:Non-fatal injuries
492:1978 in Singapore
158:that occurred in
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361:. Archived from
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363:the original
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95:103°38′54″E
82:Coordinates
517:1978 fires
497:Ship fires
461:Categories
445:19 October
394:19 October
369:15 January
341:References
292:inhalation
276:helicopter
270:Casualties
244:flash fire
183:Background
37:1978-10-06
420:1 October
250:Aftermath
211:Explosion
160:Singapore
124:explosion
92:1°16′48″N
75:Singapore
50:UTC+08:00
48:2.15 pm (
329:See also
173:exploded
156:disaster
152:disaster
67:Location
25:disaster
193:Liberia
35: (
321:Impact
236:debris
225:boiler
221:engine
217:Spyros
204:Spyros
189:Spyros
170:Spyros
167:tanker
150:Spyros
130:Deaths
61:Spyros
23:Spyros
303:shock
296:toxic
288:burns
240:tonne
164:Greek
57:Venue
447:2021
422:2018
396:2021
371:2008
301:and
282:and
229:crew
223:and
187:The
147:The
120:Type
45:Time
30:Date
299:gas
294:of
278:to
175:at
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