32 People Rescued After Oil Tanker and Cargo Ship Collide in ‘Massive Fireball’ at Sea: Reports

Mar. 15, 2025

A lifeboat from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.Photo:John Giles/PA Wire

John Giles/PA Wire

More than 30 people were saved after an oil tanker and a cargo ship collided and caught fire in the North Sea off the coast of East Yorkshire, England, on Monday, March 10, authorities said.

The tanker involved in the incident was the U.S.-flaggedStena Immaculate, while the other was the Portuguese-flagged container shipSolong, according to Sky News.

Per the BBC,Stena Immaculatehad been heading from Agio Theodoroi in Greece to Killingholme in the U.K. when the collision occurred.

Bowers confirmed to PEOPLE that three vessels had brought casualties ashore, adding that 32 people had been rescued alive. Further details were not immediately available.

“The incident remains ongoing and an assessment of the likely counter-pollution response required is being enacted,” officials concluded.

An infographic of the site of the collision.Mehmet Yaren Bozgun/Anadolu via Getty

Mehmet Yaren Bozgun/Anadolu via Getty

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) said in a statement to PEOPLE that four lifeboat crews had “been called to an incident off the East Yorkshire coast” on Monday.

The RNLI confirmed that the lifeboats had responded at 10:20 a.m. local time to reports of two vessels being involved in a collision with each other.

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The BBC reported that the tanker is one of 10 involved in a U.S. government program “which is designed to supply the armed forces with fuel during times of armed conflict or national emergency.” There were no signs that it was being used for this when the incident occurred.

Per the MarineTraffic website,Stena Immaculateis around 600 feet long and around 105 feet wide. Meanwhile, theSolongis around 461 feet long and 71.5 feet wide.

source: people.com