At 10:00 this morning, Madeiran flagged cargo ship, Solong carrying sodium cyanide, collided with an oil tanker, off the United Kingdom.
According to information provided by Notícias ao Minuto, based on information from Vessel Finder, the UK’s Coast Guard coordinated the emergency response. it was reported that the ships went up like a ‘fireball!’
The Madeiran freighter was heading to the Netherlands when it crashed into a US-flagged oil tanker named Stena Immaculate.
Later reports confirmed that at least 32 people were injured in the incident.
The collision and subsequent onboard fires triggered a major rescue operation, with the executive director of the port of Grimsby East, Martyn Boyers, specifying that 13 victims were transported ashore on a Windcat 33 ship, followed by 19 more on a port speedboat.
A later BBC report confirms that both ships’ crew members were accounted for and only one person had to be admitted to hospital.
As yet, the reason for the collision is unclear.
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
Photo: JM
