Oil tanker catches fire off northern Germany

BERLIN, Germany - An oil tanker caught fire off the Baltic Sea coast of northern Germany early on Friday, and all seven crew members on board at the time were taken ashore, maritime rescue services said in a statement.

Three vessels have been deployed to the burning tanker Annika in the Mecklenburg Bay to extinguish the blaze, with several firefighting teams also en route to the site via helicopters, according to the statement.

The Germany-flagged, 73-meter-long tanker is carrying around 640 tonnes of oil, it added. The vessel is at anchor and connected to a tugboat on site. — Reuters