CAIRO: A Suez Canal tugboat has sunk after colliding with a Hong Kong-flagged LPG tanker in the strategically important waterway, the canal authority said on Saturday, without saying if shipping traffic had been disrupted.
The tanker, Chinagas Legend, is waiting in Port Said until the completion of procedures related to the accident, canal authority head Osama Rabie said in a statement.
Two canal sources said Chinagas Legend was unharmed by the collision, was functioning normally and had anchored at Port Said.
Rabie said seven people had been on board the tugboat Fahd and that rescue work was underway, with a crane dispatched to recover the sunken vessel.
Two other canal sources said six of the tugboat's crew members had been rescued and taken to hospital, while the seventh was still unaccounted for.
The tanker, which was heading south on its journey from Singapore to the U.S., is 230 metres (755 feet) long and 36 metres (118 feet) wide, and carries a cargo of 52,000 metric tons of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Suez Canal tugboat sinks after collision with tanker
https://arab.news/9uzkd
Suez Canal tugboat sinks after collision with tanker
- The tanker, Chinagas Legend, is waiting in Port Said until the completion of procedures related to the accident
- Two canal sources said Chinagas Legend was unharmed by the collision
Syrian government foils Daesh plot to attack churches and New Year celebrations
- Bomber kills soldier in Aleppo, detonates explosives injuring 2 others
ALEPPO, DAMASCUS: The Syrian Interior Ministry announced on Thursday that it had thwarted a Daesh plot to carry out suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations and churches, particularly in Aleppo.
The ministry said in a statement that, as part of ongoing counterterrorism efforts and careful monitoring of Daesh cells in cooperation with partner agencies, it had received intelligence indicating plans for suicide attacks targeting New Year celebrations in several provinces, particularly Aleppo, with a focus on churches and civilian gathering areas.
The ministry added that it took preemptive measures, including reinforcing security around churches, deploying mobile and fixed patrols, and setting up checkpoints across the city.
During operations at a checkpoint in Aleppo’s Bab Al-Faraj district, security forces intercepted a suspected Daesh member who opened fire. One internal security soldier was killed, and the attacker detonated explosives, injuring two others.
Daesh recently increased its attacks in Syria, and was blamed for an attack last month in Palmyra that killed three Americans.
On Dec. 13, two US soldiers and an American civilian were killed in an attack Washington blamed on a lone Daesh gunman in Palmyra.
In retaliation, American forces struck scores of Daesh targets in Syria.
Syrian authorities have also carried out several operations against Daesh since then, saying on Dec. 25 they had killed a senior leader of the group.
