Ship drifting towards North Sea rig

British rescue services are to airlift personnel from a gas platform in the North Sea which is in danger of being hit by a 4,…

British rescue services are to airlift personnel from a gas platform in the North Sea which is in danger of being hit by a 4,500 tonne cargo ship which is adrift and heading towards the Murdoch gas platform.

The vessel, called Vindo, broke down this afternoon in very poor weather nine miles from the gas platform 75 miles off the Lincolnshire coast, near Theddlethorpe St Helen.

Britain's coastguard service said the ship - with nine crew on board and laden with 4,200 tonnes of fertiliser - was drifting towards the rig in a force 10 gale.

"The vessel is still broken down and we're looking into getting a tug out to it to pull it off course with the platform," said Tony Tewton, watch manager of Humber Coastguard.

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Earlier 20 of the 30 crew on board the Murdoch platform were airlifted to safety.

Rescuers said it was a "race against time" to save lives. Michael Mulford, of RAF Kinloss, said it was possible the crew could fix the ship's engine in time but were planning to winch them off two at a time.

"You don't want to leave them on if they're heading for a gas platform," he told Sky News.

Agencies