zinc ship wudma unconfimed sunk, page-6

who's barge is this?

Barge abandoned as cyclone batters north Qld

The crew of a 5,000-tonne barge will be rescued this morning in the Gulf of Carpentaria after the zinc carrier was swamped by huge seas whipped up by tropical cyclone Nelson.

The weather bureau says the category two system is crossing the coast this morning north of Karumba.

Marine search and rescue officials says the Wunma, thought to be carrying zinc, began taking water last night about 50 nautical miles north-west of Karumba.

They say the crew of 10 will be rescued by a bulk carrier, which is currently along side the stricken vessel.

Forecaster Jeff Callaghan says destructive winds with gusts up to 140 kilometres an hour are occurring near the centre of the cyclone, and flooding in low-lying areas is also a concern.

"We expect Nelson to move fairly quickly along Cape York peninsula, weaken a little bit to below tropical cyclone intensity due to it losing its source of energy but then deepen again as it moves into the Coral Sea probably somewhere near Cairns," he said.
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