A crew member was missing after an explosion occurred in a container ship in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province on Wednesday.

Axar.az reports, citing Xinhua, that the incident took place at around 5:30 a.m. as the hybrid vessel was berthing at Yangluo Port in the city. A loud sound was heard, followed by a fire that broke out in the rear section of the ship, according to Hubei Port Group Co., Ltd.

A preliminary investigation showed that seven empty containers of the vessel fell into the water and one crew member was missing.

Following the blast, the central control room at the wharf immediately issued an order to suspend operations and instructed all workers and crew members of the vessel to evacuate to a safe area.

Rescue efforts are still underway.