Eight rescued from wooden ship after collision off UAE coast

Eight Asians trapped on board a wooden freighter ship were rescued yesterday after their vessel was involved in an accident with a buoy four nautical miles out to sea.

Coastguard patrols were able to tow the ship, which was off the coast of Umm Al Qaiwain, to shore.

The rescue prevented the ship from sinking after parts of its bow were smashed in the collision with the buoy and water leaked into the hull while it was being towed, according to Al Ittihad, The National's Arabic sister paper.

The accident, which was due to dense fog, caused material damage to the ship but resulted in no casualties.

The ship was transporting foodstuffs from the UAE to a neighbouring country.

When it crashed into the buoy at 7.30am yesterday, the crew immediately called for help and were assisted and towed to the shore of the Nujoom Islands project in Al Hamriya, Sharjah.