DATELINE: 17 September 2002

LUCKY ESCAPE FOR SOUTH COAST DIVE SITES

Solent Coastguard and West Sussex firefighters have been tackling a blaze on Wester Till, a container ship which caught fire 8 miles south of Eastbourne on Monday 16 September.
The ship had 13 crew on board and was carrying 512 tonnes of general cargo and 20 tonnes of dangerous cargo, including toxic chemicals. After containing the fire to a safe area of the ship, the vessel was towed into Portsmouth. Firefighters are still tackling the fire but the threat of the dangerous cargo escaping into the sea has been averted.