At least 8 people were hurt as an explosion rocked an oil tanker that was anchored in the Shitalakkhya River in Narayanganj region of Bangladesh, media reports said.

Five of them suffered serious burn wounds and are currently undergoing treatment at Dhaka's Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery, reports bdnews24.

The tanker named OT Shanghai-8 was anchored at the Darikandi Dockyard.

The explosion occurred at around  1:30 am on Sunday.

Inspector Ataur Rahman of Rupganj Police Station told bdnews24 that the blast was sparked by the accumulation of gas inside the tanker, which at the time was empty after unloading the oil it was carrying at the port.

“The ship instantly caught fire, burning crew members and workers onboard. Some of them are in hospital care," he said.

No deaths were reported in the incident.