An Iranian cargo ship sank in UAE waters due to rough weather, while its crew of six was airlifted to safety by a rescue helicopter, a newspaper reported on Saturday. The Al-Jasourah went down on Friday some 10 nautical miles off the coast of the northern emirate of Umm Al-Quwain soon after it had left the neighbouring emirate of Sharjah, said Gulf News.

Responding to a distress call, the emirati coastguard deployed a helicopter to airlift the all-Iranian crew to safety, it said. The size of the ship and the nature of its cargo were unknown. The meteorological service in the United Arab Emirates had previously warned of high winds affecting coastal areas of the Gulf state for several days.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012