At least one person was killed in a fire that gripped a Russian oil tanker in the Caspian Sea, the regional emergency center said on Tuesday, February 28, according to RIA Novosti.

A regional Emergencies Ministry said the fire started in the deck housing of the Inzhener Nazarov at 12.35 (Moscow time).

According to preliminary information, the Makhachkala-bound vessel was carrying a 14-man crew, one person was killed.

The cause of the fire is being investigated, the emergency center said.

Nine ships and 45 people are tackling the fire, including the crew members that are still on board.

The oil vessel, en route from Turkmenistan, was built in the Soviet Union in 1968.