Advertisement

Italian cargo ship sinks off French coast after going up in flames

AFP
AFP - [email protected]
Italian cargo ship sinks off French coast after going up in flames
Photo: AFP

An Italian cargo ship sank about 330 kilometres (200 miles) off the western Atlantic coast of France after rescue vessels were unable to put out a fire that broke out late Sunday, officials said.

Advertisement

All 27 people aboard the "Grande America" were rescued without injury on Monday night.

The ship was on its way from Hamburg, Germany, to Casablanca in Morocco before the blaze, "which intensified over the past 24 hours," French naval authorities said on Twitter.

"The ship had been listing increasingly to the right as time went on," it added.

French Environment Minister Francois de Rugy told lawmakers in Paris on Tuesday that officials still did not know what the ship was transporting, but that anti-pollution measures were already being taken

"As always in these situations, there are pollution risks, we can't deny it, because already there was the heavy fuel used for the engine," de Rugy said.

A first tugboat to reach the ship was unable to extinguish the fire, and two others were on their way to the site Tuesday when the ship sank in waters that are about 4,600 meters (15,000 feet) deep.

READ ALSO: Italy and France race to clean up oil spill after cargo ships collide off corsica

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also