French launch terrorist enquiry into tanker blast

07/10/2002| IslamWeb

The anti-terrorist branch of the Paris prosecutor's office has opened a preliminary enquiry into the blast on board a French tanker off the coast of Yemen, judicial officials revealed.The enquiry -- which the officials qualified as "exploratory" -- has been entrusted to the domestic intelligence service, the Territorial Surveillance Directorate (DST).

The 330-metre (1,100-foot) Limburg was hit by an unexplained explosion early Sunday as it came by an offshore terminal 700 kilometres (450 miles) east of Aden.

Early reports that it was rammed by a boat packed with explosives have so far not been confirmed, but the ship's owners -- French-based Euronav -- say the damage to the hull could only have been caused by a terrorist attack.

France is separately sending out shipping experts to help the Yemeni authorities in their investigation.

The Limburg remained in distress Monday, and several oil slicks were spotted in the area. Of the 25 crew -- eight Frenchmen and 17 Bulgarians -- 12 were injured in the incident and one Bulgarian was missing.

PHOTO CAPTION

A handout photograph shows the French supertanker 'Limburg' which is ablaze off the coast of Yemen after an explosion ripped through its hold October 6, 2002. There are conflicting reports on whether the explosion was an internal blast or a bomb attack from a small boat. 'In my opinion this was a terrorist attack,' Jacques Moizan, director of Euronav, which owns the tanker, told Reuters by telephone from France. (Euronav/Reuters )