CARGO SHIP SINKS OFF WELSH COAST

Eight sailors abandoned the merchant vessel ‘Dina’ at 6.30am on 16 December 2001 after issuing a Mayday call warning it was sinking in the Bristol Channel.

HMS Blyth, a Royal Navy minehunter, which was six miles away, and a rescue helicopter from RAF Chivenor were immediately ordered to the scene to help the men.

When they arrived at 7.30am, they found four of the crew in a life raft while the remaining four had jumped directly into the sea.

The warship deployed a small landing craft to pick up the men in the water, who had been in the sea for about an hour and a half.

All the sailors were airlifted to Withybush General Hospital in Haverford West, Pembrokeshire, in South Wales. Following check-ups all of the ship's eight crew were released and are recovering in a nearby hotel in Haverfordwest.

A spokesman for Milford Haven coastguard, who co-ordinated the rescue effort, says the captain of the ship was suffering from mild hypothermia but otherwise the sailors were uninjured.

The Dina, a 2,600 tonne cargo vessel from Barbados has now disappeared in deep water.