Associated Press - November 21, 2009 2:04 PM ET

ESCATAWPA, Miss. (AP) - Moss Point Police and emergency crews confirmed two people died in an explosion at a Jackson County Shipyard.

Emergency crews responded to VT Halter Marine's Escatawpa shipyard late Friday afternoon. Crews left the scene around 9 p.m. Friday after an evening rescuing survivors and recovering bodies.

From 4:00pm on Friday until well after dark, emergency crews flooded into VT Halter Marine, after a deadly explosion in the hull of a tugboat.

VT Halter Marine CEO William Skinner said a crew was cleaning the tank in preparation for painting it.

Information from: WLOX-TV, http://www.wo

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