BINTULU (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - One person is confirmed dead after an oil tanker exploded in front of the Bintulu Medical Centre on Jalan Kidurong in northern Sarawak on Monday (July 10).

Kidurong state assemblyman Chiew Ching Sing said firefighters removed the charred remains of a victim from the scene.

"I saw one body taken away from the site in an ambulance," he said, adding that the deceased had yet to be identified.

Mr Chiew said firefighters who arrived at the scene at noon on Monday took over an hour to extinguish the flames.

"I was informed that the oil tanker overturned following an accident and exploded," he told The Star.

Initial reports indicate that as many as five vehicles were involved in the 11.55am incident.

It is understood that some of those in the vehicles managed to escape the flames and the cause of the explosion is unclear at present.