SKorean ship partially sinks; 5 crewmen die

SEOUL, South Korea?? A South Korean cargo ship was rocked by an explosion off the country's west coast Sunday, leaving five people dead and six others missing, officials said.

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The unexplained explosion tore apart the front of the ship and left the 4,198-ton vessel half-submerged, coast guard officials said. Two of the five bodies located later had serious external wounds, suggesting they were killed by the explosion, coast guard officer Kim Dong-jin said.

Five crewmen were rescued and searchers were trying to locate the six missing, the coast guard said in a statement.

The explosion occurred relatively far from the tense sea border with North Korea, and the coast guard doesn't suspect the North was involved, coast guard officer Ko Jae-young said. North Korea is accused of torpedoing a South Korean warship in 2010, killing 46 sailors, though Pyongyang has denied involvement.

The cargo ship, which usually carried refined petroleum products and chemicals, was carrying 80 tons of Bunker-C oil and 40 tons of diesel oil as its fuel when it exploded, the coast guard statement said. Oil leakage weren't immediately reported, it said.

Eleven members of the crew are from South Korea, and the other five are from Myanmar.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46001177/ns/world_news-asia_pacific/

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