A prominent British scientist, Darren Holling, aged 49, tragically lost his life in a fatal explosion that occurred on a cargo ship in Malaysia. The incident took place while Darren was examining a fire onboard the vessel MSC Kyparissia. The explosion, which caught him in the blaze, also claimed the lives of two other individuals: Engineer Diaday Jason Hernia, 39, from the Philippines, and safety inspector Sugumaran Kolanthai, 59, from Malaysia.
Following the explosion, two crew members and one inspector sustained injuries and were promptly taken to the nearest hospital from the Port of Tanjung Pelepas in the Johor Bahru district of Johor province. Darren, a partner at the safety consultancy firm Burgoynes, was unfortunately one of the fatalities in this tragic incident.
Authorities from the Iskandar Puteri Fire and Rescue Station received an emergency call at 12:23 pm on Friday, reporting the fire outbreak during container unloading activities on the ship. Investigations revealed that the explosion resulted in six victims, with three fatalities and three injuries. The injured individuals, including a Malaysian man in his 20s and two Filipino men in their 40s, were swiftly transported to a private hospital for medical attention.
The ship, captained by Novak Petr, 60, had departed the port on November 5 but returned the next day after smoke was detected in the vessel’s Bay Area. Darren, a renowned chemical incident investigator, was called in from Singapore to assess the fire situation onboard. The Marine Department of Malaysia confirmed that no hazardous or toxic gases were released during the explosion and subsequent fire on the Malta-registered container ship.
Moreover, the affected area was placed under strict control measures, with entry and exit routes to the wharf being closed for safety purposes. The Oil Spill Response Team remained on standby for any potential needs. The Marine Department of Malaysia extended its heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims.
Darren, with a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Durham and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, had an extensive career investigating over 800 fires, explosions, and chemical incidents globally.
