Oil tanker, cargo ship collide in North Sea, 32 killed Video

An oil tanker and cargo ship collided off the East Yorkshire coast on March 10, sparking fires and leaving 32 casualties, prompting a large-scale rescue operation, emergency services reported.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed that several lifeboats and a rescue helicopter were deployed to the scene in the North Sea, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

Additionally, a coastguard plane and nearby vessels equipped with firefighting capabilities were sent to assist.

The RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) stated that multiple people had reportedly abandoned the ships following the crash, and fires were burning on both vessels. Three lifeboats were engaged in search and rescue efforts in conjunction with the coastguard.

Footage broadcast reportedly filmed from a nearby vessel, showed thick black smoke billowing from the two ships.

The tanker involved is believed to be the U.S.-flagged MV Stena Immaculate, a chemical and oil products carrier, which was anchored at the time of the collision after departing from Greece. The cargo ship, the Portugal-flagged container vessel Solong, was en route from Grangemouth in Scotland to Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Coastguards raised the alarm at 9:48 a.m. (0948 GMT). The incident occurred off the coast of Hull, approximately 155 miles (250 km) north of London.

By Aghakazim Guliyev