The UK Coastguard said it was responding on Monday, March 10, to reports that an oil tanker and a cargo vessel had collided in the North Sea, off the northeastern coast of England.

The alarm about the collision was alerted at 0948 GMT. A Coastguard helicopter, aircraft, lifeboats from four towns and other nearby vessels were part of the large rescue operation, the Coastguard said.

"HM Coastguard is currently co-ordinating the emergency response to reports of a collision between a tanker and cargo vessel off the coast of East Yorkshire," a Coastguard spokesperson added.

The oil tanker involved in the collision is on fire, two separate sources with knowledge of the crash have told the BBC. Images on the BBC showed a huge plume of black smoke and flames rising from the scene. Vessels with firefighting capabilities have been dispatched to the scene.

Swedish tanker company Stena Bulk confirmed to Agence France-Presse (AFP) that it owned the oil tanker involved in the accident, adding it was operated by Crowley, a US-based maritime company.

According to media reports, the cargo ship involved is the Solong or So Long, owned by the German company Reederei Koepping.

The RNLI lifeboat agency has said "there were reports that a number of people had abandoned the vessels following a collision and there were fires on both ships." It said three lifeboats were working on search and rescue at the scene alongside the coast guard.

This is a developing story.