A prominent British scientist was one of the three individuals who lost their lives in a tragic explosion on a cargo ship.
Darren Holling, aged 49, was conducting an investigation into a fire when the explosion occurred on the vessel in Malaysia. Holling, a safety expert from Durham, entered the ship’s hold while cargo was being unloaded on Friday. The MSC Kyparissia ship in Malaysia was suddenly engulfed in a devastating blast, trapping Darren in the fire. Several others on board were also affected by the explosion, resulting in two additional fatalities.
The casualties included Engineer Diaday Jason Hernia, 39, from the Philippines, and safety inspector Sugumaran Kolanthai, 59, from Malaysia.
Two crew members and an inspector were injured and promptly taken to the nearest hospital from the Port of Tanjung Pelepas in the Johor Bahru district of Johor province. Maritime authorities confirmed that Darren, a partner at the safety consultancy firm Burgoynes, had succumbed to the tragic incident.
The Iskandar Puteri Fire and Rescue Station Commander received an emergency call at 12:23 pm on Friday. He reported that the fire broke out during container unloading in the under hatch of Block 5.
Three people lost their lives, while three others, including a Malaysian man in his 20s and two Filipino men in their 40s, sustained injuries and were taken to a private hospital. The deceased were sent for post-mortem examinations at Sultanah Aminah Hospital in Johor Bahru.
The Marine Department of Malaysia disclosed that the ship had departed on November 5 but returned the next day due to smoke detection in the Bay Area, under the command of Czech captain Novak Petr, 60.
Darren, a renowned chemical incident investigator, was flown in from Singapore, where his company is based, to assess the onboard fire. The Marine Department confirmed no release of hazardous gases post-explosion on the Malta-registered container ship.
The affected area was secured, with entry and exit points closed for safety. The Oil Spill Response Team remained on standby, and condolences were extended to the victims’ families by the Marine Department of Malaysia.
With a Chemistry PhD from the University of Durham, Darren was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He had investigated over 800 fires, explosions, and chemical incidents across the UK, Europe, Africa, and Asia.