Salvage crews board burning cargo ship off Dutch coast

Smoke is seen from the cargo ship in the North Sea (Kustwacht Nederland/Coast Guard Netherlands via AP)

Salvage crews dealing with a ship loaded with cars that has been burning for two days off the Dutch coast have boarded the vessel for the first time as heat, flames and smoke eased.

“In the course of the morning, after measurements by the recovery companies, it turned out that the temperature on board the Fremantle Highway had dropped sharply. The fire is still raging but decreasing. The smoke is also decreasing,” the Netherlands’ coastguard said.