Friday, December 05, 2008
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VICTORIA, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Seychelles police launched an
investigation on Friday into the deaths of five men killed in an
ammonia leak on a French fishing vessel.
France has the second largest tuna fleet in the region after Spain. The fishermen risk heavily-armed Somali pirates to trawl some of the world's best tuna stocks in the Gulf of Aden.
"The deaths occurred at 3.30 pm (1130 GMT) on Wednesday on board Le Titan at Victoria port and were the result of an ammonia leakage," police spokesman Jean Toussaint told Reuters. "Post mortems will be carried out today."
Frenchman Jacques Sellin, 55, the vessel's chief mechanic, was among the dead. The other victims were a Seychellois and three Indians.
Officials said the ship was owned by a Reunion-based company, SAPMER. Ammonia is used on fishing vessels to freeze the tuna out at sea.
Tuna is a key source of foreign exchange for the Seychelles' heavily indebted economy. Canned tuna accounts for 46 percent of total exports, with more than 30,000 tonnes sold last year.SOURCE: Reuters, Friday, December 05, 2008