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A fire which started on a trawler off the south-east coast of Sakhalin Island on Tuesday left four Russian sailors dead and four injured, news reports said.

The Vincent, which was traveling with a crew of 17 on board and destined for the port of Mombasa, Kenya, was spotted burning after noon by a research vessel in Sakhalin’s Aniva bay.

After receiving the distress signal from the second vessel, the Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk’s Marine Rescue and Coordinating Center saved 13 crew members, while another four – the captain’s senior aide, the boatswain, a sailor and the cook – were reported dead by the Vincent’s captain. Their bodies have yet to be found, Ria Novosti cited the regional rescue and emergency services as saying.

The fire on the ship, which has been tugged to the settlement of Taranai, has yet to be contained, hindering the ship’s inspection and the search for the bodies. The emergency crew is trying to prevent the fire from spreading to the 30 tons of diesel oil on board.

Three of the injured have been taken to a hospital in the town of Korsakov, two of whom are reported as being in serious condition. One of the hospitalized, a 37-year-old resident of Primorye, suffered severe burns and is currently in intensive care.

According to preliminary information, the trawler has recently undergone repairs using flammable materials, which caused the fire to spread quickly from the engine-room and prevented the crew from sending distress signals due to a lack of power.

Sakhalin region’s Transport Prosecutor’s Office has launched a criminal case into the incident. The inspection of the vessel will be performed immediately after the fire is extinguished.

According to preliminary information, the fire is the result of a short circuit, Ria Novosti news agency cited Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk’s Rescue and Coordinating center.

The Vincent is owned by a S. Korean company and has sailed under the Cambodian flag. All members of the ship crew are Russian citizens.