One dead after patrol boat blows up and sinks off Ukraine's Mariupol

Reuters
A member of the Ukrainian armed forces walks in a trench at the positions located in the village of Shirokino near Mariupol, Ukraine, June 6, 2015. REUTERS/Maksim Levin

KIEV (Reuters) - A search operation was under way on Sunday for a border guard official missing after a patrol boat sank off Ukraine's port city of Mariupol following an explosion, the border guard said. One crew member died and five others were being treated for injuries, local police were quoted as saying by Interfax news agency. The cause of the explosion was not immediately clear, authorities said. Mariupol is on the edge of the conflict between government forces and Russian-backed separatists and has been under threat from rebel attacks for months. "Today at 14.20 hours (1120 GMT) a patrol boat exploded as it came out of its mooring station in Mariupol," a state border guard statement said. "There were seven service staff on board. The search is continuing for one service staff member." (Writing by Richard Balmforth; Editing by Kevin Liffey)