The UK coastguard has called off the search for a missing crew member after a cargo ship crashed into a tanker anchored in the North Sea off the English coast.
"Thirty-six crew members were taken safely to shore, one person was taken to hospital.
"One crew member of the Solong remains unaccounted for, after an extensive search for the missing crew member sadly they have not been found and the search has ended," said Matthew Atkinson, Divisional Commander for HM Coastguard.
In a statement, shipping firm Ernst Russ said said: "Both vessels have sustained significant damage in the impact of the collision and the subsequent fire.
"Thirteen of the 14 Solong crew members have been brought safely shore. Efforts to locate the missing crew member are ongoing."
All crew are confirmed alive on the burning North Sea tanker, the Swedish shipowner said.
"Yes we can confirm that," Lena Alvling, said a spokesperson for the Swedish shipowner Stena Bulk when asked whether the crew were all alive.
Authorities mounted an emergency response and the coastguard agency said a helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft, lifeboats and nearby vessels with fire-fighting capability had all been called to the incident to help.
In an email, the chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East said the casualties have been brought ashore with ambulances waiting to take them to hospital in the port town of Grimsby.
It was not clear how severe their condition was.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution, a lifeboat service working on the emergency response, said: "There were reports that a number of people had abandoned the vessels following a collision and there were fires on both ships."
The collision took place in a busy stretch of waterway with traffic running from the ports along Britain's northeast coast to the Netherlands and Germany, shipping industry sources said.
Stena said its tanker was operated by US logistics group Crowley.
The tanker was one of just 10 enlisted in a US government programme designed to supply the armed forces with fuel.
Maritime analytics website Marine Traffic said the 183-metre-long Stena Immaculate was anchored off Immingham, northeast England, when it was struck by the 140-metre-long Solong, which was en route to Rotterdam.
Two shipping sources said the Stena Immaculate was at anchor at the time of the incident.
Ship insurer Skuld of Norway would only confirm that the Stena Immaculate was covered with it for protection and indemnity, a segment of insurance that covers environmental damage and crew injuries or fatalities.
The United Nations shipping agency, the International Maritime Organization, said it was aware of the situation.
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Concerns over 'toxic hazards'
Greenpeace has said it is "extremely concerned" about "multiple toxic hazards" from the crash as Lloyd's List revealed the cargo ship involved was carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide, a flammable gas.
"As more information emerges about what the ships were carrying, we are extremely concerned about the multiple toxic hazards these chemicals could pose to marine life," said Paul Johnston, a senior scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at Exeter University.
Britain's Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was "concerned to hear of the collision", adding that she is "liaising with officials and HM Coastguard as the situation develops".
"I want to thank all emergency service workers involved for their continued efforts in responding to the incident," he added.
The UK Coastguard said it was assessing the "likely" counter-pollution response that could be required following the collision.
"The incident remains ongoing and an assessment of the likely counter pollution response required is being enacted," a UK Coastguard spokesperson said as rescue operations were under way.
A HM Coastguard spokesperson said it is "currently co-ordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire".
It said the alarm " was raised at 9.48am".
"A Coastguard Rescue Helicopter from Humberside was called, alongside lifeboats from Skegness, Bridlington, Maplethorpe and Cleethorpes, an HM Coastguard fixed wing aircraft, and nearby vessels with fire-fighting capability," it said.
It added that the incident "remains ongoing".
Additional reporting PA
