SECURITY around a stricken Heysham cargo ferry – now grounded at Blackpool – is to be stepped up to prevent crowds of sightseers putting themselves in danger.
>>>Watch the slideshow here...The Riverdance, which got into difficulties in freak waves on its way to Heysham from Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland last Thursday, has become something of a tourist attraction for people – including many from our district – keen to get up close.
Visitors had been close enough to take amazing photographs of the vessel over the weekend as salvage crews worked on getting the ship back afloat.
But now police and coastguard staff are clamping down and enforcing a strict exclusion zone around the Riverdance, worried that members of the public might be injured by anything falling off the ship. Some of the cargo of trucks are still left hanging over the rails of the vessel
Tim Newton, of Blackpool Police said: "The salvage teams are pretty certain the ship and what's on board is secure, but had the ship moved or something fallen it would have killed those below." Salvagers are currently working on board the ship in an effort to raise it from the sand. They have erected fencing to prevent people getting onto the beach, while extra security will be drafted in.
Twenty three crew and passengers were airlifted to safety from the Riverdance in a daring rescue.
The full article contains 234 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
