At least 32 people were injured on Monday (Mar 10) in a collision between an oil tanker and a cargo ship that was carrying cyanide. The accident happened in the North Sea.

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"Ambulances are queuing on the quay" following the incident off the northeast coast of England, said Martyn Boyers, chief executive of the Port of Grimsby East. 

The UK Coastguard, on Monday (Mar 10), said that it was responding to a collision incident in the North Sea involving an oil tanker and a cargo ship.

According to UK media reports, both the cargo vessel and the oil tanker were ablaze off the northeastern coast of England.

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"HM Coastguard is currently coordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire," a Coastguard spokesperson said.

An alarm was triggered at 0948 GMT, alerting about the collision.

Images released by the local media from the scene showed a huge plume of black smoke rising from the vessel.

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The massive rescue effort involved a Coast Guard helicopter, aircraft, lifeboats from four coastal towns, and multiple nearby vessels, the Coast Guard added.

Swedish tanker company Stena Bulk confirmed that it owned the oil tanker that was involved in the accident, stating that it was operated by US-based maritime company Crowley.

Lifeboat services said that several people abandoned the vessels after the collision occurred, according to British media reports.

North Sea tanker was under US military charter

A tanker ship, that was hit at anchor by another vessel in the North Sea, was on a short-term US military charter, a spokesperson said.

"Stena Immaculate was on a short-term charter with Military Sealift Command," according to Jillian Morris, the command spokesperson.

Oil tanker on fire

According to BBC reports, the oil tanker involved in the collision is on fire.

Vessels equipped with firefighting equipment have been dispatched to the location of the incident.

The cargo ship involved is the "Solong" or "So Long", owned by the German company Reederei Koepping, said local media reports.

UK Coast Guard assessing 'likely' pollution 

The UK Coast Guard said that it was assessing the "likely" counter-pollution response that could be required after the collision incident.

"The incident remains ongoing and an assessment of the likely counter pollution response required is being enacted," a UK Coastguard spokesperson said.

(With inputs from agencies)