Crew members found dead on ship

The Sava Lake container ship had a crew of seven on board

Two crew members have been found dead on board a container ship forced to dock at the Port of Dover in Kent.

The Latvian-registered Sava Lake had contacted Dover Coastguard on Friday night to report an incident on board.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue said the deaths, which are not being treated as suspicious, were believed to have been caused by a chemical leak.

The vessel, which was carrying ferrous metal from Denmark to Portugal, moored at Dover Harbour at 2150 GMT.

The ship with a seven-strong crew on board had alerted Dover Coastguard at 1905 GMT after the deceased, believed to be either Latvian or Russian, were discovered.

'Non-hazardous cargo'

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue said: "A specialist chemical response team was sent to identify any dangerous atmospheres on board."

Kent Police added that the ship's cargo was non-hazardous, and posed "no risk to the public".

A spokeswoman said the force was conducting a joint investigation on behalf of the coroner with the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

Gwyn Prosser, the Labour MP for Dover who spent more than 20 years at sea, praised the coastguard and the emergency services for their prompt response.

But he said seafaring was still a very dangerous occupation with people going into confined spaces which had very little ventilation being one of the most common forms of death.

"Whatever the outcome of this inquiry, I'm sure that lessons will be learnt that might make life a little bit safer for seafarers in the future," he said.