The fire which broke out in the hold of a merchant vessel docked at Larnaca port on Monday night was caused by a work accident, the labour department and the police said after carrying out a relevant investigation on Tuesday.

One of the engineers on board the vessel was later admitted to Larnaca general hospital after inhaling smoke during the incident.

According to fire brigade spokesperson Andreas Kettis, the fire had broken out in the hold of the vessel, which was transporting large quantities of soybeans, and was caused by a crawler excavator placed in the hold to collect the goods.

The fire department responded to the fire with three fire engines at 10.50pm on Monday night and later moved the excavator to an open area using the ship’s crane in cooperation with the crew of the vessel and the ports authority.