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Air rescue for ferry passengers Air rescue for ferry travellers
(10 minutes later)
Passengers and crew are being airlifted from a ferry in the Irish Sea after sailing into bad weather. Passengers and crew are being airlifted from a ferry in the Irish Sea after it was hit by a freak wave in bad weather.
A total of 23 people are being removed from the ship in the rescue attempt after Liverpool coastguard received a Mayday call just before 2000 GMT. Four passengers and 19 crew are being removed from the ship in the rescue attempt after Liverpool coastguard received a Mayday call at 1943 GMT.
Cargo on board The River Dance has shifted and the ship is listing to 60 degrees. The Riverdance, which sails from Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland to Heysham in Lancashire, is listing to 60 degrees after its cargo shifted.
Royal Navy and RAF Sea King helicopters from Prestwick and North Wales are involved in the rescue. Royal Navy and RAF Sea King helicopters are involved in the rescue.
Precautionary measure
They have been drafted in from Prestwick and north Wales.
Tony Redding, a spokesman for Seatruck Ferries which owns the vessel, said the ship's master ordered the evacuation as a precaution.
The Riverdance - a roll-on-roll-off ferry - got into trouble approximately eight miles west of Fleetwood, Lancashire, in the Irish Sea.
It is believed that all those airlifted from the ferry are being taken to Blackpool Airport.