Three overseas sailors were killed by a gas leak on Thursday while repairing a ship docked at Shanghai's Chongming Island.

All three victims were from the Philippines, according to an initial investigation by the work safety watchdog. Thirteen others were injured and were sent to hospital.

The accident took place at 4:30pm when the crews were repairing the carbon dioxide system on the Panama-registered cargo ship Hakone. The system was used to extinguish the fire on the ship.

However, the carbon dioxide leaked from the facility, resulting in three deaths and 13 injuries, the Shanghai Safety Production and Supervision Administration announced yesterday.

The injured were rushed to the Chongming Central Hospital and were in a stable condition yesterday, doctors said.

The injured included ship crew members and those who were dispatched to the ship to help with the repair. Among them, three were Chinese, according to an insider.

Carbon dioxide is not toxic, but the gas can suffocate a person by denying them oxygen when it reached a certain density, police said.

The cabin of the ship was sealed which resulted in a high concentration of the gas. The cause of the leak is under investigation, but witnesses said it might have resulted from operator error by the repairers.

(Shanghai Daily May 24, 2008)