Rescue operation underway following mayday call from ferry

A rescue operation was under way tonight after a passenger ferry got into difficulties in high winds on the Irish Sea.

Three helicopters – two from the RAF and one from the coastguard – were scrambled to airlift 23 people from 'The Riverdance', 10 nautical miles off the coast of Lancashire in the UK.

The ship was heading for Warren Point when its cargo shifted to one side and it is now likely to overturn, an RAF spokesman said.