SINKING FEELING
Moment £6m luxury yacht sunk after being rammed by runaway tug boat and crushed against harbour wall
THIS is the moment a £6million luxury yacht sunk after being rammed by a runaway tugboat in a Spanish harbour.
The huge supply vessel was caught on video as it crashed into a replica 1910 schooner, which was docked in the Marina Port Tarraco of Tarragona.
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Bystanders watched open mouthed as the back of the striking red ‘Punta Mayor’ slowly crushed the small vessel against the harbour wall.
Dramatic images shared on Twitter later showed how the incident had caused the boat to sink in less than half an hour.
Only its tall mast was visible as it stuck from above the water.
According to Port Tarranonga, the incident took place at 8:15 am on Monday morning after the supply vessel had experienced an engine malfunction.
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The Punta Mayor had attempted an exit manoeuvre before onboard staff discovered that the main engines were blocked in reverse.
The captain of the boat, Eleonora E, attempted to prevent the collision by stopping the main engines and anchoring the vessel to the ground.
But her efforts were no to avail as several firecrews and rescue services attended the scene shortly after the collision occurred.
The port reported no injuries as barriers were placed around the wreckage to prevent any fuel spills.
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It comes only weeks after a £5million superyacht went up in flames and sank in a nearby port in Valencia.
Stunned onlookers watched on from the harbourside and from their own vessels before they arrived as huge flames and smoke billowed from the deck.
Officials reportedly believed the fire may have been sparked by a failure in the vessel's lithium batteries.
And last week, a lavish 85ft super-yacht sunk in Torquay Harbour after it became engulfed in flames.
Plumes of black smoke billowed over the Devon port, as the flames ripped through the boat, which was carrying 8,000 litres.
Some locals were understood to be stuck on the pier as firefighters rushed to extinguish the blaze.
It came as Karen Baxter, from the Environment Agency, said it was "too early to assess" what impact the spill could have on wildlife and water quality as the latest in a string of a yacht related incidents.
She added: "We understand there's probably around nine tonnes of diesel onboard the yacht.
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"Specialist contractors are being employed to put booms into place and try and keep the diesel as close as possible to the yacht.
"More specialist kit is being brought down from Bideford and we'll be working with the contractors to try and clean up as much diesel as we possibly can."
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