A cargo ship hit a tanker carrying jet fuel off the coast of eastern England Monday, setting both vessels on fire and triggering a major rescue operation, emergency services said.
At least 32 people were brought ashore, but their condition was not immediately clear. The operator of the tanker said all of its crew members were safe.
The U.S.-flagged chemical and oil products tanker MV Stena Immaculate was at anchor near the port of Grimsby Monday morning after sailing from Greece, according to ship-tracking site VesselFinder. The cargo vessel, Portugal-flagged container ship Solong, was sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
U.S.-based Crowley Ship Management, which operates the Stena Immaculate, said the tanker “sustained a ruptured cargo tank containing Jet-A1 fuel,” when the container ship struck it, triggering a fire and “multiple explosions onboard,” with fuel released into the sea.
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It said all the mariners on the tanker were safe and accounted for.
Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East, said 13 casualties were brought in on a Windcat 33 high-speed vessel, followed by another 19 on a harbor pilot boat.
Britain’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency said several lifeboats and a coast guard rescue helicopter were dispatched to the scene in the North Sea, along with a coast guard plane.
The site of the collision is off the coast of Hull, about 155 miles north of London.
Coast guards said the alarm was raised at 9:48 a.m. (0948 GMT). Humber Coast Guard made a radio broadcast asking vessels with firefighting equipment and those who could help with search and rescue to head to the scene.
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The RNLI lifeboat agency said “there were reports that a number of people had abandoned the vessels following a collision and there were fires on both ships.” It said three lifeboats were working on search and rescue at the scene alongside the coast guard.
Video footage aired by the BBC and apparently filmed from a nearby vessel showed thick black smoke pouring from both ships.
Boyers, the port chief, said he had been told there was “a massive fireball.”
“It’s too far out for us to see – about 10 miles – but we have seen the vessels bringing them in,” he said. “They must have sent a mayday out. Luckily there was a crew transfer vessel out there already. Since then, there has been a flotilla of ambulances to pick up anyone they can find.”
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U.K. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was being kept up to date on the developing situation.
“I want to thank all emergency service workers involved for their continued efforts in responding to the incident,” she said.
