Police are questioning seven crew members including the captain of a cargo vessel which hit a gas platform 40 miles (64km) off the Norfolk coast and then sank.

Six men jumped into the water after the “Jork” struck the unmanned Viking Echo platform in the North Sea.

A helicopter and a rescue vessel were sent to the ship, which was carrying grain from Lubeck in Germany.

Six men from Poland and the Polish captain are being questioned about the incident by Norfolk Police.

The vessel sank at 0800 BST on Sunday after bursting its hull, which was caused by its cargo of wheat “swelling”, coastguards said.

Damage assessed

Six crew members wearing lifejackets had to be rescued from the sea but the captain stayed on board trying to save the ship, which was destined for the River Humber. He too had to be rescued.

Watch manager at Yarmouth Coastguard Mario Siano said: “The captain of the ship is in police custody and the rest of the Polish crew are being housed in a local hotel.

“It’s a routine thing for captains to be breathalysed in situations like this. There will be all sorts of checks done. It’s a freak accident and we don’t know what caused it.”

He added that the chances of such a crash happening were “minimal” as there was a 500m exclusion zone around platforms.

ConocoPhillips, which owns the gas platform, has shut down production while any damage is assessed.

A company spokesman said: “The platform is normally unmanned and we’re very pleased it was on this occasion.”

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch is looking into the cause of the crash.

Meanwhile the Viking Echo gas rig is said to be intact but floating in a lethal cocktail that would be more at home in a typical London pub.

source: BBC News, TheSpoof.com