Rescue for sinking rig

The platform has been towed into Felixstowe

A drilling platform which began sinking off the Essex coast has been towed to safety.

The test rig was being used to survey the seabed in preparation for building a wind farm when it began to tilt.

The rig was towed into Felixstowe overnight where it is being examined.

Coastguards were called to Gunfleet Sands near Clacton - four miles off the coast - on Wednesday afternoon.

Two of the drilling platform's four legs were reported to have sunk into the sand, tilting the rig by about 30 degrees.

Six rescued

No-one was injured in the incident. Thames Coastguards said the six people on board the platform were rescued safely.

The rig, managed by GE Wind Energy, was being used in preparation work for a 30-turbine off-shore wind farm.

Two lifeboats from Clacton and Walton and an RAF rescue helicopter from Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk were called to aid the workers on the platform.

GE Wind energy says there was no damage, injury or pollution during the incident.