An oil tanker and cargo ship are both on fire after colliding in the North Sea off the coast of East Yorkshire, the RNLI has said.

The lifeboat service added it had sent four crews to the scene after the crash was reported just before 9.50am.

A number of people abandoned the vessels following the collision around 13 miles from the coast.

All those from the oil tanker are said to be “safe and fully accounted for”, however jet fuel has been released into the sea, according to the firm that manages the vessel.

Meanwhile, the cargo ship was reportedly carrying 15 containers of sodium cyanide, a Lloyd’s List Intelligence casualty report said, according to news agency Reuters.

Sky News understands there is a five-mile air and sea exclusion zone around the location of the incident, which may be widened to 10 miles if later required.