FORMER FRENCH CHATEAU OWNERS 'DISTRAUGHT' IT WAS BULLDOZED 'BY MISTAKE'

The former French owner of an 18th century Bordeaux chateau "mistakenly" knocked down by Polish builders has said her family was "traumatised" to find their childhood home razed to the ground.

Juliette Marmie said her daughters and those of her brother, who had co-owned the chateau before selling it to a Russian businessman in 2010, had "reacted very badly because it represented all their family memories."

"They are the hardest hit".

"We would often pass by it to see what they had done. I can't tell you how traumatic it was to turn up one day to find the whole chateau had vanished," she told The Daily Telegraph.

The picturesque Château de Bellevue a jewel of 18th century architecture in Yvrac, a small winemaking village, was happily nestling among its famous vineyards until last month.

Mrs Marmie's father had bought the chateau around 1980. "For more than 20 years we all worked hard on its upkeep and to see it go up in smoke is terrible," she said.

New Russian owner Dmitry Stroskin had been granted a permit to renovate the edifice, which was due to be restored to its former glory.

BUENOS AIRES HIT BY TOXIC CLOUD

Hospitals are on red alert and parts of Buenos Aires have been evacuated as a toxic cloud descends upon the city.

A shipping container holding pesticide exploded this morning with smoke diffusing across central parts of the Argentine capital.

The offices of the Air Force, two major banks, a court and a school where among the buildings within a 20-block radius of the city's port - obscured by a yellow cloud - evacuated as a nauseating smell plagued the area.

The cloud spread past the centre of the city to southern neighbourhoods, reaching as far as Lanús in Buenos Aires province, some 15 kilometres away.

The city government is advising people to stay indoors and close windows and doors, and the Ministry of Health has put all hospitals on red alert.

Office workers fleeing the commercial zone of Retiro next to the port wore surgical masks and complained of being unable to breathe.

Many are being taken to hospital, local television reports. "I went dizzy and felt an irritation in my eyes," one man said.

The city government is now assuring the smoke is not dangerous. "People need not worry," said Javier Corcuera, head of the Environmental Protection Agency. "It's so diluted that it's not toxic."

Caribbean islands

The islands of the Caribbean Sea, commonly known as the West Indies, are perhaps best places to visit as far as honeymooners and retirees are concerned. The region has an extensive archipelago in the far west of the Atlantic Ocean. Pleasant weather around the year (with occasional rain fall) and promotional air fares mainly from Europe and North America allow visitors to explore hundreds of islands.

Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and the Cayman Islands are the "largest" countries in this part of the world, which are most visited by the travellers. The Lucayan Archipelago that includes The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands is the other major attraction.

When to visit

From mid-December to mid-April is the ideal time to visit the Caribbean.

During this high season, the tourism sector is usually at its peak mainly because of Christmas and Easter.

Some foreigners also prefer visiting the Caribbean in "summer" (mid-April to mid-December), as hotel rates fall by 40% or more during this period.

Main attractions

Apart from enjoying the sugar sand beaches and the sparkling turquoise water, visitors can enjoy quality time by sailing, boating and shopping. The Caribbean's inspiring beauty and warm hospitality provides an ideal setting for relaxation. Swim in pristine waters, browse colourful boutiques and dine at gourmet restaurants.

Basic requirements

In order to ensure a hassle free experience while passing through borders of the Caribbean countries, tourists should have forms completed on their arrival: Immigration Card (will be provided by airline staff); Proof of identification; Customs declaration card (will be provided by airline staff).

Vehicle carrier BALTIC ACE (IMO: 9386213) and containership CORVUS J (IMO: 9262895) came into collision about 30 miles of the Dutch coast while underway with a cargo of cars from Zeebrugge, Belgium, to Kotka, Finland. The incident took place some 40–50 kilometres (25–31 mi) off the coast of Rotterdam on Dec.05, 2012 at 18:15 GMT. The BALTIC ACE has sunk.

At least 13 of the 24 crew members of the Baltic Ace have rescued themselves using life rafts. Several helicopters, marine vessels and nearby merchant vessels are assisting in the rescue operation. Several crew members have been transported to hospitals in the Netherlands. 11 crew members are still missing.

Screenshot shows collision area and vessels assisting in search and rescue three hours after the incident, via AIS.

The BALTIC ACE left the port of Zeebrugge earlier this afternoon and was underway to Kotka, Finland. The CORVUS J was underway from Grangemouth to Antwerp. The container ship was said to be severely damaged but not in danger of sinking.

Four survivors were flown to a hospital in Rotterdam, seven taken by rescue helicopter to a hospital in Belgium and two were being treated on board a ship that found them, Oldenburger said.

"They are all in shock" and are believed to suffer from hypothermia, he said, but their lives were not in danger.

With weather conditions over the North Sea worsening including some snow flurries and the temperature dropping, hopes of finding survivors "were diminishing", Oldenburger said.

He added strong winds and waves of up to 3m also had hampered the rescue operation.

At least three helicopters - one of which was fitted out with infrared imaging equipment to search in the darkness - and a plane joined the search, but no crew were spotted since a fourth body was discovered in the water.

The Baltic Ace was under way from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Kotka in Finland and the Cypriot-registered Corvus J from Grangemouth in Scotland to Antwerp in Belgium, according to shipping tracker website MarineTraffic.com.

"At this stage we don't know what caused the accident," said Verburg: "Our first priority right now is the safety of the crew."

The shipping lane where the accident happened is one of the busiest in the North Sea and an important passing point for ships sailing into Rotterdam port, Europe's largest and the fifth-largest in the world.

Rotterdam port spokesman Sjaak Poppe told AFP the collision would not affect shipping in and out of the port.

In one of the most serious collisions in Dutch waters in recent years, the Greek crude oil tanker Mindoro in October 2010 collided with the container ship Jork Ranger off the coast of Scheveningen near The Hague, spilling thousands of litres of kerosene (jet fuel) into the sea, the European Maritime Safety Agency said on its website.

AFP

Latest news:from 06/12 11:00 GMT

Vessel collided in a position 51 50N 002 56E, North sea

The car carrier sank shortly after collision, boxship though damaged, remained under own power and was taking part in search and rescue operation. As of 01:00 UTC Dec 6 Corvus J was still in the collision area crusing around at some 2 knots speed, apparently in search and rescue. As of 01:00 UTC Dec 6, out of 24 Baltic Ace crew 13 managed to evacuate to life rafts and were lifted by helicopters, 4 dead bodies were recovered, with 7 crew still missing. Four rescued crew were transferred to the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam, seven to Ostend in Belgium. It remains unclear just how many people were on board of Baltic Ace, maybe there were some passengers. Baltic Ace presumably sank just in minutes, meaning the crew or part of the left vessel in whatever dress they’ve had, with a little or no time to get into immersion suits. The temperature of the water in collision area reported to be 10 deg centigrade, with life expectancy from 1 to 6 hours for temperature 10 – 15 centigrade.

Vessel has been moving on collision course with Corvus J liable to give the way to Baltic Ace, as having her on a starboard side, but the Baltic Ace was to take actions too, if she saw that Corvus J didn’t give her way or her actions alone weren’t enough to avoid collision.