FIVE crew members are missing after a Malaysian tanker caught fire in the South China Sea early, the vessel's operator says.
The accident occurred at a methanol terminal run by Petronas on the island of Labuan off the Malaysian portion of Borneo island, the shipping company MISC said.
In a statement it said the ship, a chemical and palm oil tanker, had 29 crew - 23 Malaysians and six Filipinos.
"At present, 24 have been safely brought ashore. Five are still unaccounted for."
Petronas is the parent company of MISC.
The statement did not indicate what caused the fire or whether the tanker was loaded.
