Serious accident in the North Sea: ships collide, oil tanker on fire

Hull (Great Britain) - Accident in the North Sea. Two ships have collided off the English coast. An oil tanker is on fire and the coastguard is on a rescue mission.

The devastating accident occurred at 9.48 a.m. (local time) off the coast of East Yorkshire, near the city of Hull. According to the BBC , the oil tanker MV Stena Immaculate and the container ship MV Solong collided for reasons that are still unclear.

Images show plumes of black smoke rising above the tanker and the fire appears to have engulfed large parts of the ship.

The rescue services are deployed in large numbers. Several ships are on their way. Helicopters are circling over the scene.

It is unclear whether the crew is still on board. According to unconfirmed information, 32 people have been brought ashore.

Meanwhile, witnesses report that a "huge fireball" formed immediately after the collision, BBC reports.

According to information from Sky, the tanker Stena Immaculate last arrived from Greece. The ship was anchored off Hull. The Solong, on the other hand, was on its way from Scotland to Rotterdam (Netherlands) when the accident occurred.

The rescue services are preparing for a complex operation.

First reported on March 10 at 13:48; continuously updated