The crew of a cargo ship which sank off the Kent coast were rescued from life rafts and airlifted to hospital.

As force nine winds whipped around them, the seven people aboard were forced to abandon the 90m vessel after making a mayday call around 35 nautical miles (65km) north east of Ramsgate late Friday night.

Search and rescue helicopters were dispatched from both the UK and the Netherlands and an RNLI lifeboat also went to the sinking ship to help the crew.

But nearby merchant ships managed to reach them first and took them on board before they were airlifted to hospital.

“Following a mayday broadcast from the sinking vessel, we sent multiple assets to the scene to rescue the crew who abandoned ship,” Steve Carson, the UK Coastguard duty commander, said.

“The weather on scene has been challenging but we are pleased to report that all the crew have been rescued and are on their way to hospital.”