Two other workers were injured in the fire that followed a blast in the boiler room of a ship undergoing construction, the agency said.

Gas compression is believed to be the cause of the explosion, it added, citing officials.

Thirty-one shipyard workers have died since 2008 in Turkey while the total body count in Istanbul's Tuzla Shipyard has surpassed 120 in the past 17 years.

The sub-contracting system and noncompliance with occupational safety regulations are seen as the major causes of deaths in Turkey's shipyards.