A crewman who suffered severe burns in an explosion on board a container ship, which killed one of his colleagues, is reported to be making good progress in hospital.

The man was severely injured after a boiler backfired in the engine room of the Manhattan Bridge container ship as it was docking at Felixstowe port on Thursday.

A spokesman for Suffolk police said the injured man was recovering in hospital.

“Their condition has improved,” the spokesman added.

At the time of the incident, residents reported hearing a “massive explosion” in the ship while passing the docks.

The explosion is not being treated as suspicious. However, Suffolk Constabulary said it was continuing to investigate with representative from the Marine Accident & Investigation Branch (MAIB).

The Manhattan Bridge operated by ‘K’ Line in Europe, is a modern container ship, which can carry up to 14,000 containers.

The company offered its “condolences to the family of the deceased and their sympathy with the crew of the vessel.”