Crew of 27 saved as Chinese vessel sinking in Baltic Sea.

(From Agence France Presse)

The 27-member crew of a Chinese vessel was rescued from their sinking ship after it collided with a freighter between Denmark's Bornholm island and the Swedish coast, the Danish navy said.

A series of explosions could be heard coming from the foundering vessel, probably due to gases formed by contact between the cargo of fertilizer and seawater, naval staff said.

A spokesman warned there was also a danger of pollution from the fuel tanks.

All crew members of the Fu Shan Hai were evacuated into lifeboats within one hour of the collision which occurred around 1030 GMT, and then transferred to a Danish rescue vessel, officials said.

"The explosions on the ship, all of whose crew of 27 were rescued, are probably due to gases caused by chemical reactions in the 66,000 tonnes of fertiliser on contact with seawater," a naval operations spokesman said.

The ship, which finally sank in the early evening, was lying in 65 metres (215 feet) of water, he said. It would be difficult to pump out its reservoirs of 1,600 tonnes of heavy fuel oil.