The chemical tanker that collided with a freighter in the English Channel has now sunk

The chemical tanker that collided with a freighter in the English Channel has now sunk. The accident happened on Tuesday near Guernsey, and 22 crew were evacuated. The Ece, which was carrying 10,000 tonnes of phosphoric acid, had been listing heavily and finally went down at midnight last night.

There’s a one-mile exclusion zone around the wreckage, and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) will fly over the wreck later this afternoon to assess the possibility of pollution. While the phosphoric acid is not said to pose a problem to the environment, concerns have been raised about a potential fuel spill.

The Ece sank at the site of the collision, in 70m (230ft) of water. Falmouth Coastguard said it had a 5m (16ft 4in) hole below its waterline.