Charlotte
31-01-06, 10:20 AM
Two ships, including a tanker carry phosphoric acid, have collided in the English Channel sparking a rescue operation to save 22 crew members.
The alarm was raised at around 2.20am when a chemical tanker and a cargo ship collided around 30 miles north-west of Guernsey.
RAF search and rescue teams and coastguards joined their French counterparts in successfully airlifting 22 crew members of both vessels to safety, and they were taken to hospital in Guernsey.
Fred Caygill, of the Maritime Coastguard Agency, said the tanker, which was carrying 10,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid, was "significantly damaged".
He added the vessel, named Ece, was leaking, but he dismissed fears that the chemical could harm the waters.
"Phosphoric acid is a corrosive liquid which does not pose a pollution threat. It has dissolved in the sea," he said.
An RAF search and rescue helicopter from Chivenor in Devon is at the scene, and a French naval tug is en route to assess whether the tanker can be salvaged.
The second ship, a bulk carrier, was only slightly damaged in the collision.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/31/uships.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/01/31/ixportaltop.html)
The alarm was raised at around 2.20am when a chemical tanker and a cargo ship collided around 30 miles north-west of Guernsey.
RAF search and rescue teams and coastguards joined their French counterparts in successfully airlifting 22 crew members of both vessels to safety, and they were taken to hospital in Guernsey.
Fred Caygill, of the Maritime Coastguard Agency, said the tanker, which was carrying 10,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid, was "significantly damaged".
He added the vessel, named Ece, was leaking, but he dismissed fears that the chemical could harm the waters.
"Phosphoric acid is a corrosive liquid which does not pose a pollution threat. It has dissolved in the sea," he said.
An RAF search and rescue helicopter from Chivenor in Devon is at the scene, and a French naval tug is en route to assess whether the tanker can be salvaged.
The second ship, a bulk carrier, was only slightly damaged in the collision.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/31/uships.xml&sSheet=/portal/2006/01/31/ixportaltop.html)