The Sitakund Disaster

On a quiet Autumn evening in October 1968, the peace was broken by a large explosion at sea. Two more explosions followed it. The residents of the quiet seaside town of Eastbourne and other nearby towns rushed into the streets to see what had caused this disturbance. An oil tanker travelling down the English Channel was the cause of all this excitement. Fishing boats, tugs and a Royal Navy frigate all rushed to the aid of the vessel in distress. Our story recounts the events day by day of the crew's rescue and the fight against the raging fire. After the tragedy of the Torrey Canyon the previous year, and the disastrous pollution of the sea and beaches in Cornwall, this was of great concern in the town. Local firefighters with no experience in fighting large fires at sea and two tugs with firefighting equipment managed to extinguish the blaze, but they could not save the tanker. We tell the story of the battle of those brave men.