A dredger was operating at a dredging site when the engineer of the watch (EOW) detected the smell of diesel oil in the engine room. He then discovered a small leak in the low-pressure diesel oil supply line to the main engine. Physical evidence suggests that he attempted to carry out a temporary repair while the main engine was still running, without informing either the bridge team or the chief engineer.

It appears that during the repair, the engineer’s overalls became soaked with fuel. When he later used a portable angle grinder, sparks from the grinding disc likely ignited both the atomized fuel from the leak and his diesel-soaked clothing. As a result, his overalls caught fire, which in turn triggered a fire in the engine room. Despite the incident, the EOW managed to leave the engine room and reach medical assistance.

The fire in the engine room was eventually extinguished using the fixed CO₂ smothering system. However, the EOW sustained severe burns and later died from his injuries.