Port chief says 32 casualties brought ashore after ships collide and catch fire in the North Sea

The boss of an English port says 32 casualties have been brought ashore after a collision between an oil tanker and a cargo ship in the North Sea. Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East, said 13 casualties were brought in on a Windcat 33 vessel, followed by another 19 on a harbor pilot boat. Their condition was not immediately clear. Britain’s Maritime and Coastguard Agency said several lifeboats and a coast guard rescue helicopter were dispatched to the scene in the North Sea, along with a coast guard plane and nearby vessels with firefighting capability. The ships involved are the U.S.-flagged chemical and oil products carrier MV Stena Immaculate and the Portugal-flagged container ship Solong.