--- begin forwarded text Delivered-To: rah@shipwright.com Delivered-To: clips@philodox.com Date: Fri, 23 Jun 2006 12:44:44 -0400 To: Philodox Clips List <clips@philodox.com> From: "R.A. Hettinga" <rah@shipwright.com> Subject: [Clips] Blaze at offshore military fort Reply-To: clips-chat@philodox.com Sender: clips-bounces@philodox.com <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/england/5110244.stm> The BBC Friday, 23 June 2006, 14:11 GMT 15:11 UK Blaze at offshore military fort A man was airlifted to hospital after a fire broke out on an old sea fort off the coast of East Anglia. The blaze started on Friday at Sealand, an inhabited former military platform, which is about seven miles east of the Suffolk-Essex coastline. Thames Coastguard said the platform was surrounded in thick black smoke. A coastguard spokesman said it was believed a generator caught fire. The one person on board was airlifted to Ipswich Hospital. Harwich lifeboat were also called to the scene. 'Territorial waters' Britain built the anti-aircraft platform during World War II. It remained derelict until the 1960s when a retired Army major, Paddy Roy Bates, took over the 10,000 sq ft platform and declared it the independent nation of Sealand. At the time, the platform was beyond the then three-mile limit of British territorial waters. All this changed in 1987, when the UK extended its territorial waters from three to 12 miles. The British Government does not recognise the sovereignty of Sealand. -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' _______________________________________________ Clips mailing list Clips@philodox.com http://www.philodox.com/mailman/listinfo/clips --- end forwarded text -- ----------------- R. A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com> The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/> 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA "... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity, [predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'