Croatia contains cargo ship fire

It is not yet clear where the crippled ship will go

Croatian emergency workers have managed to attach tow lines to a blazing Turkish cargo ship laden with heavy fuel oil in the Adriatic Sea.

Firefighters worked through the night to contain the blaze, which broke out on Wednesday on the Und Adriyatik.

Croatian officials say they have prevented an environmental disaster.

At one point the vessel, carrying 850 tonnes of fuel oil, veered to within 8km (five miles) of the Brijuni Islands national park.

All of the ship's 22 crew and nine passengers were evacuated.

A fire brigade spokesman said two tugboats spent Wednesday night dousing the scorching hull with water to bring down the temperature. Floating barrages have been placed around the ship, but as yet no oil has leaked.

The vessel caught fire off the northern Adriatic resort of Rovinj. It was sailing from Istanbul to the Italian port of Trieste.