A prominent British scientist, Darren Holling, aged 49, lost his life in a tragic explosion aboard a cargo ship in Malaysia. The incident occurred while he was examining a fire on the vessel MSC Kyparissia as it was being unloaded. The explosion also claimed the lives of Engineer Diaday Jason Hernia, 39, from the Philippines, and safety inspector Sugumaran Kolanthai, 59, from Malaysia.
Several individuals onboard the ship were injured, with two crew members and one inspector taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. The Iskandar Puteri Fire and Rescue Station received an emergency call on Friday afternoon and found that the fire broke out during container unloading at Block 5. Investigations revealed that three individuals perished in the incident, while three others sustained injuries.
The ship had initially departed from the port on November 5 but returned the following day due to smoke detected in the Bay Area. Darren, a renowned chemical incident investigator, was called in from Singapore to assess the fire. Authorities confirmed that no hazardous or toxic gases were released during the explosion and subsequent fire.
The Marine Department of Malaysia reported that the affected area was under control, with safety measures in place. They expressed condolences to the families of the victims. Darren, who held a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Durham and was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, had extensive experience investigating fires, explosions, and chemical incidents worldwide.