A major operation was underway today to rescue crew members from a sinking cargo ship after it crashed into a stone barge in the English Channel.
Eleven of the twenty-three crew members were being evacuated from the 200-metre long vessel after it ploughed into the barge and began taking in water.
Dramatic images and video footage showed damage to the side of the stricken vessel and rescue helicopters winching people to safety from the deck.
The UK coastguard confirmed it had declared “a major incident” three miles south west of Dover near Samphire Hoe.
Bad weather conditions brought on by Storm Angus meant the cargo vessel drifted onto the Varne sand back, a spokesman for the UK coastguard said.
The remaining 12 crew members remained onboard to deal with issues and were able to move the ship into clearer waters.
A tug was on hand to help the ship sail to a safe place so the damage to the hull could be properly inspected.
Two Coastguard search and rescue helicopters were scrambled to help bring the people on the boat to safety.
Lifeboats were also sent to the scene. No-one was reported injured.
The ship's crew alerted the UK coastguard at 7.20am this morning to say it had “lost power and steering”.
Duty commander Steve Carson of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency said during the rescue: "The weather conditions this morning are particularly challenging and we have declared this a major incident.
"We are now planning to evacuate the crew from the cargo vessel and our HM Coastguard helicopters from Lydd and Lee-on-Solent are on the scene."
Nobody was on board the stone barge at the time of the collision, according to the UK coastguard.
The Marine Accident Investigation Branch deployed a team to Dover to conduct "a safety investigation" into the incident.
Winds of 80mph were recorded at Langdon Bay on the Kent coast on Sunday morning and a gust swept in to Guernsey at 84mph.
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