SINGAPORE – Twenty-five crew members of a Gabon-registered tanker, MT Pablo, have been rescued by several ships in the South China Sea off the Johor coast, after a fire on board on Monday.

Three people are still missing.

The tanker was heading towards Singapore from China when it caught fire, reported the Malaysian daily The Star.

In a statement on Monday, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) received information from the master of tanker MS Enola that the vessel had rescued 18 crew members from MT Pablo.

The rescue took place within the Singapore Maritime Search and Rescue Region in the South China Sea, about 40 nautical miles off Pulau Tinggi in Johor.

The statement added that seven others were picked up by vessels in the vicinity.

It said: “Three remain unaccounted for. There are no Singaporean crew members on board.”

The MPA statement said the MRCC is continuing to carry out navigational broadcasts for passing vessels to keep a lookout for the missing crew members.