Islam Times - Multiple blasts occur aboard US fuel barge in Mobile River, injuring 3

Islam Times - Multiple blasts have reportedly occurred aboard fuel barges in the Mobile River in the US southern state of Alabama, injuring at least three people.

At least four back-to-back explosions took place late Wednesday evening aboard what local fire department officials described as “an empty compressed natural gas barge,” local press reports said.

According to the US Coast Guard and the fire department in the city of Mobile, the three people hurt during the incident suffered burns and their conditions remain unknown.

Authorities added that a ship maker on the eastern bank of the river, Austal, was “partially evacuated” following a nearby fire that was caused by the blasts.

The Coast Guard further said in a statement that it had established a one-nautical-mile safety zone around the fuel barge, implying that the explosions occurred on just one vessel.

"The barge was an empty compressed natural gas barge that was at the dock for cleaning," the Coast Guard statement added.

Meanwhile, some witnesses posting tweet messages about the blasts have reportedly compared their impact to "an earthquake."

No further details have been released on the incident except that a probe in underway to determine the cause of the explosions.