Sailors were rescued off the English Channel in the United Kingdom after a chemical tanker collided with another vessel at dawn, the Manila Standard Today reported. 22 crewmembers were rescued by a British coastguard boat and a Royal Air Force (RAF) helicopter and then taken to St. Margaret’s Lodge, a hospital on the British island of Guernsey, according to reports by a RAF officer and Ambassador to London Edgardo Espiritu. The tanker Ece, which was carrying 10,000 tons of phosphoric acid, collided with a Maltese-registered cargo ship loaded with 26,000 tons of phosphorus. Divers were scheduled to inspect the hull of the chemical tanker, which was badly damaged, to assess pollution risks.
