A massive gas fire on board two merchant ships anchored near the Kerch Strait killed at least 11 sailors Monday afternoon

A massive gas fire on board two merchant ships anchored near the Kerch Strait killed at least 11 sailors Monday afternoon, Interfax reports from Moscow. One vessel, a liquefied gas tanker, was reportedly fueling the other ship when fire broke out. A safety lapse on the two Tanzanian-flagged ships was cited by Russian official as the probable cause of the fire, the agency reports. The two ships were about 16 miles from Crimea’s southeastern tip, an area where ships have been backed up since Russian border control forces started inspecting ships last spring. The Kremlin alleges there are bomb threats to its new $3.7 billion bridge.