Cargo ship fire prompts English Channel rescue
Getty ImagesA rescue operation is under way in the English Channel after a fire broke out on a cargo ship off the Kent coast.
Coastguard and lifeboat crews were called to a fire on the Grande Brasile, a Malta flagged vessel bound for Le Havre in France, after it got into trouble 15 miles off the coast of Ramsgate.
No injuries have been reported, a coastguard spokesperson said, but a French towing vessel with firefighting capabilities was assisting.
The fire, which was reported at 09:35 GMT, has been contained, the coastguard confirmed.
The fire on the Grande Brasile, sailing from Antwerp in Belgium, was contained to one deck of the vessel, the coastguard said.
It added that "a tug-boat, Dutch fixed-wing aircraft and a French vessel with firefighting and towing capability have also been tasked to support".
A spokesperson for the RNLI said its lifeboats had been called to the rescue at 10:05 GMT but had since been stood down and had returned to shore.
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