Scores rescued after winds push ships aground

LONDON -- Rescue operations Friday saved scores of people from two ships that ran aground in stormy waters off the British coast, but efforts to evacuate the injured captain of third distressed vessel had to be called off.

Rescue workers airlifted 37 people from the two ships that ran aground off Britain's northwestern coast.

A Royal Air Force helicopter was sent Friday night to remove the seriously injured captain from a freighter that lost cargo in rough seas and was partially flooded near Scilly Islands off southwest England, officials said. But the rescue had to be called off because conditions were too dangerous.

Early Friday, helicopters rescued the 14-member Spanish crew of the Spinning Dale trawler on rocks off St. Kilda in Scotland's Western Isles, coast guard spokesman Fred Caygill said. Two of the crew were treated at a British hospital for hypothermia.

The Spaniards were trapped on the rocks under a cliff at St. Kilda, an uninhabited volcanic archipelago. The gale-force winds -- ranging from 47-54 mph -- swirling around the cliff made it difficult for a helicopter to approach, Caygill said.

The coast guard successfully airlifted 23 people off a ferry that ran aground near England's Blackpool beach resort soon after a freak wave left it listing on its side, Caygill said.

The Riverdance ferry ran into trouble Thursday night and three helicopters soon arrived to begin rescuing those on board.

At one point the ferry, which carried cargo and passengers, was listing at 45 degrees in 70 mph winds and 23-foot waves, the coast guard said.

Some crew members remained aboard the ferry during the rescue operation to try to stabilize the vessel's cargo and restart its engines. They were still with the ferry when it ran aground, but were later taken off.

A salvage operation was under way Friday, Caygill said.

In northern England, a blizzard left six inches of snow on roads in County Durham, stranding several hundred vehicles and forcing police to rescue scores of passengers, including the elderly and children.