Ferry rescue after freak wave in Irish Sea

All those on board a passenger ferry hit by a " freak wave" in the Irish Sea have been air-lifted to safety after a mayday call was issued this morning.

Gale force winds, which are expected to continue throughout Britain today, caused the Riverdance to list dangerously and prompted a treacherous rescue operation last night.

Four passengers and 10 crew of the stricken boat, including a nine-month-old baby, were airlifted to safety at around 7.30pm.

Nine remaining crew members stayed behind with the ship to try and refloat her, eventually running aground on the north shore of Blackpool beach.

But a high swell this morning caused the vessel to list at a 30 degree angle.

Fleetwood RNLI launched its all-weather lifeboat at 5.06am after the coxswain of the Riverdance issued a mayday call asking for help to get everyone off the ferry.

A spokesman for Seatruck Ferries, which owns Riverdance, said: " The conditions are such that the master requested helicopter transfer of all personnel.

" All nine are now safely off."

He said the boat had started to rotate on the beach after approaching high water.

It was feared that to wait would render a helicopter rescue impossible and so a standby RAF 122 helicopter flew in to winch the crew from the ship.

High seas have also forced a fishing trawler to run aground in the Outer Hebrides, trapping 14 men onboard.

The vessel, the Spinning Dale, sent out a distress signal at about 5.25am when it is thought to have come into difficulty on rocks on the Scottish island of St Kilda.

A helicopter launched from Stornoway was earlier forced to abandon its rescue attempt as conditions were too dangerous.

The crew, who are all Spanish speaking, are not currently thought to be at risk but attempts will be made to get them off the vessel as soon as possible.

Fred Caygill, of the Martime and Coastal Agency, said: “Winds are currently gusting at gale force 11 which is simply too dangerous for a helicopter to go near to the vessel.

“We are in constant contact with the crew and are monitoring the weather situation very closely. “As soon as the conditions allow we will be attempting another rescue.”

On the mainland, the stormy weather also killed a lorry driver, brought down scores of trees and caused power cuts, while a baby girl had to be rescued after being blown into a lake.

The roll on, roll off ferry, called Riverdance, sent a Mayday at around 7.45pm in 70 miles per hour gales after it was hit by a huge wave off Morecambe Bay which knocked its cargo out of position and caused it to list.

With 19 crew and four passengers on board, the ferry was travelling from Heysham, Lancs to Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland and hit trouble eight miles west of Fleetwood.

Liverpool Coastguard declared it a major incident. Watch manager Anthony Topping said that the ferry was at one stage listing 60 degrees and passengers had to be evacuated.

John Matthews, from Fleetwood RNLI, said the ship ran into difficulties over a bank known as Shell Flat, which causes powerful banking waves.

Lifeboats and three rescue helicopters, one from the RAF, one from the Royal Navy and one from the Irish Coastguard, were sent to save the passengers.

The passengers were taken to Blackpool Airport. There were no reports of any injuries.

The ferry later ran aground on the north shore of Blackpool beach with the ferry's master and eight of the crew still on board, Coastguard confirmed.

Chief Supt Richard Spedding, of Lancashire police, said: " The seas were considerable off the shoreline in the Irish Sea. But this is a well rehearsed event in Lancashire before Christmas we held an event practising this.

" This could have been a really, really bad incident. But we are standing here today with no loss of life at all.

" All those airlifted out are very, very glad to be here at Blackpool Airport. They will be put up overnight in accommodation nearby. There are no injuries other than minor."

1. Say it in Russian:

Be hit by a freak wave, to refloat a ship, to list at a 30 degree angle, a high swell, high seas, roll on roll off ferry, to send a Mayday, to prompt a treacherous rescue operation the stricken boat, to request helicopter transfer of all personnel; to cause power cuts, the seas were considerable off the shoreline in the Irish Sea

2. Say it in English:

Эвакуировать по воздуху, подать сигнал бедствия, ветер ураганной силы, спускать спасательную шлюпку, поднять экипаж с борта судна, пристально следить за погодой, сместить груз, попасть в сложное положение, опасно накрениться

3. Insert prepositions:

Nine remaining crew members stayed … … the ship; to send … a distress signal; to list … a 30 degree angle; to get everyone … the ferry; to come … difficulty … rocks; to gust … gale force 11; to be … risk; to be … constant contact … the crew; to knock its cargo out of position; to be put … overnight … accommodation nearby

4. Summarizing the information from the text, make a brief report about the ferry