Yemeni, French Presidents Talk on Tanker Explosion over Telephone

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, October 07, 2002

Yemeni, French Presidents Talk on Tanker Explosion over Telephone

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his French counterpart Jacques Chirac held a telephone conversation Sunday on the explosion of a French oil supertanker, the Yemeni News Agency reported.

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Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and his French counterpart Jacques Chirac held a telephone conversation Sunday on the explosion of a French oil supertanker, the Yemeni News Agency reported.

The 330-metre-long tanker "Limburg" caught fire at 7:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) while entering the Adabba oil exporting marina in Ashahr district of the eastern Hadramaut province.

The tanker, loaded with 350,000 barrels of crude oil, is still ablaze being at the mercy of wind and water currents. Fire fighterskeep working to put out the flame, local sources said.

The Yemeni Ministry of Transport and Maritime Affairs said it isseeking help of the owners and insurers of the tanker to tow it andcontain the ensuing maritime pollution.

The Yemeni president told Chirac that his country took immediatemeasures to save the crew of the tanker, confirming 24 out of the 25 crew members had been rescued and one was still missing.

He assured Chirac that the Yemeni security began its probe into the cause of the incident. They also agreed to conduct joint investigations to determine what is behind the explosion.

Chirac expressed appreciation of Yemen's efforts to save the crew members and contain the fire.

The two leaders, among others, discussed bilateral ties, as wellas regional and international issues of common concern, including the Iraqi issue.

Saleh and Chirac held the telephone conversation after the two countries were obviously at odds over a possible cause behind the supertanker blast.

French officials consider the explosion a terror attack, saying a boat approaching the supertanker "seems to be an attack in the same style as the USS Cole."

But Yemeni officials said they have not yet obtained evidence for such a conclusion. They initially viewed the explosion as an "accident."

The blast occurred six days ahead of the second anniversary of the bombing attack on the US destroyer USS Cole by the terrorist AlQaeda organization.

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