BEIRUT: A fire broke out Sunday on an oil tanker off northwest Syria’s Banyas refinery due to “technical failure” in one of its engines, state media reported.

“A technical failure in one of the engines of an oil tanker parked off the coast of the city of Banyas led to a small fire and the appearance of black smoke,” SANA news agency said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said an “explosion” caused the blaze. It was the same “Iranian vessel” that had caught fire in an April 24 attack that killed three Syrians, including two crew members, according to the war monitor’s head Rami Abdul Rahman.