BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Ship rescue and sinking

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Wednesday, 16 January 2008, 10:34 GMT

In pictures: Ship rescue and sinking

Maritime and Coastguard Agency footage of the stricken Ice Prince

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The Greek-registered Ice Prince, heading for Egypt, sent out an emergency call at 1900 GMT on Sunday after getting into trouble in high winds in the English Channel.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency footage of the stricken cargo ship the Ice Prince.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency footage of the stricken cargo ship the Ice Prince.

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Lifeboat and helicopter crews staged a dramatic rescue to evacuate 20 people from the vessel, which became stranded off the Devon coast, including a man with a broken leg.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency footage of the rescued crew

Maritime and Coastguard Agency footage of the rescued crew

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Twelve of the crew were airlifted to Portland by a coastguard helicopter and eight others were taken by the Torbay lifeboat to Brixham.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency footage of the stricken cargo ship.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency footage of the stricken cargo ship.

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The ship shed most of its load of 5,258 tonnes of sawn timber. Coastguards said they were expecting a "wood slick" from the ship's cargo.

Maritime and Coastguard Agency footage of the stricken cargo ship

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Conditions on Monday prevented salvage crews from assessing the state of the ship or towing it back to shore, as 9ft (2.7m) waves and strong winds battered the vessel.

French Coastguard footage of the stricken cargo ship the Ice Prince

French Coastguard footage of the stricken cargo ship the Ice Prince

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The stricken ship, which weighs 6,395 tonnes and is 328ft (100m) in length, sank at about 0045 GMT on Tuesday.

French Coastguard footage of the stricken cargo ship the Ice Prince.

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The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said recovery was "more problematic" once the vessel had sunk, due to the position in which it had come to rest on the sea bed.

Marine Nationale footage of the sinking Ice Prince

Marine Nationale footage of the sinking Ice Prince

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The agency warned potential scavengers to stay away from any timber washed up. A vessel with underwater surveillance equipment will check on timber in the ship's hold on Thursday.

Marine Nationale footage of the sinking Ice Prince

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The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) confirmed it had launched a preliminary administrative inquiry into the incident.

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Related to this story:
Timber ship sinks in rough seas (15 Jan 08 | Devon )
Stricken ship at risk of sinking (14 Jan 08 | Devon )
Tow plan for stricken cargo ship (14 Jan 08 | Devon )

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Maritime and Coastguard Agency
RNLI
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