Friday, July 24, 2009

20 Rescued From Sinking Ship

Twenty crew members were rescued on Thursday off a bulk carrier before it sank off South Africa's west coast en route from Brazil to India, a marine rescue authority said. The captain of the Greek owned Ioannis NK reported at 6am that the carrier, with 22,500 metric tons of sugar onboard, was taking on water and listing, said Maritime Rescue and Co-ordination Centre spokesman Sarene Kloren.'Two air force helicopters were dispatched and all 20 crewmembers were safely evacuated to Saldanha Bay' north of Cape Town, Ms Kloren said in a statement. The carrier was drifting 98 nautical miles (181km) off Cape Columbine on the West Coast, near Saldanha Bay, and listing at a 45-degree angle before it sunk.

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