Eleven seamen were rescued from a burning cargo tugboat by the Saudi Arabian Coast Guard and Saudi Aramco.
The boat caught fire off Jubail in the Eastern Province, after it left the Kasphap port in Oman on Monday with some 800 goats and was headed to Kuwait via Saudi waters.
Colonel Khaled Al-Arqubi, a Coast Guard spokesman in the Eastern Province said that Aramco officials and members of the Coast Guard went out on several boats and attempted to extinguish the fire, but the burning boat sank.
“The engineer on board saw flames coming from the boat’s engine. Six of the crewmembers were asleep, while others were on the job at the time of the incident. The boat contained bundles of grass for feeding the goats, which went up in flames. The boat was completely engulfed and had no choice but to jump into the water for safety,” The boat’s captain, Salim Karim Sanghar, told Arab News.
The survivors were transferred onto a rescue boat and moved to Jubail.
“Saudi Aramco sailors gave us clothes and Saudi coastguards gave us food and a place to stay at their base in Jubail,” said Sanghar. “I hope to be able to get home as soon as possible.”
Al-Arqubi said that two crewmembers were injured and were taken to Jubail General Hospital for treatment, and they are in stable condition.
