One man has died and another is missing after a cargo ship caught fire and sank off the coast of Sharjah, the emirate’s Civil Defence department confirmed.
Three others on board at the time also have suffered serious to moderate burns, Sharjah Civil Defence acting director general Colonel Khalid Obaid Bin Kanoon told Gulf News.
All of the five crew members were Asian men. The man who is missing jumped into the water to escape the flames.
The ship is believed to caught fire 8km off the Sharjah coast, north of Dubai, about 09:00 on Monday.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.
Khalid Port police are investigating the incident, while authorities also are searching for the missing crewman.