UPDATE - Search Operation Continues After Oil Tanker Explosion - Russian Maritime Agency

SIMFEROPOL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th October, 2020) The search for the missing crew members from the Russian General Hazi Aslanov oil tanker will continue in the Sea of Azov throughout the night, Russia's Federal Agency for Maritime and River Transport (Rosmorrechflot) told Sputnik.

"The search operation will continue all night," a Rosmorrechflot spokesperson said, adding that helicopters will be used starting early morning on Sunday.

On Saturday, local emergency services told Sputnik that two blasts, likely oil vapor explosions, had occurred aboard the General Hazi Aslanov tanker in the Sea of Azov following a fire. According to Rosmorrechflot, the oil tanker was sailing empty toward Rostov-on-Don.

A local branch of the Russian Emergencies Ministry said in a statement that there was no oil spill, according to preliminary information. The exact cause of the explosion on board the General Hazi Aslanov tanker is under investigation.

A Rosmorrechflot spokesperson told Sputnik that ten crew members had been evacuated, while the search for the remaining three who were thrown overboard continued.

According to preliminary visual inspections, there is currently no threat of the tanker sinking, Rosmorrechflot told Sputnik in the early hours of Sunday.