British police have charged the Russian captain of a cargo ship that crashed into a United States fuel tanker in the North Sea this week with manslaughter and gross negligence over the death of a crew member.

Humberside police said on Friday night that Vladimir Motin, 59, from Primorsky in Saint Petersburg, Russia, was remanded in police custody and will appear at Hull Magistrates Court on Saturday.

On Monday, the Portuguese-flagged Solong container vessel, of which Motin was the captain, hit the Stena Immaculate tanker at full speed while it was anchored off the coast of Hull in northeastern England. The Stena Immaculate was carrying US military jet fuel.

During the crash, which caused massive fires and explosions, one of the Solong’s crew members, 38-year-old Filipino national Mark Angelo Pernia, went missing and is now “presumed” dead.

“Extensive searches were carried out by HM Coastguard to locate the missing crew member, now presumed deceased,” Humberside police said in a statement.

“The family are being supported by specialist trained officers and our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time,” it added.

The remaining 36 crew members from both vessels survived the incident and were brought to shore.

On Friday, the Russian embassy in London said on its Telegram channel that its diplomats had held a “detailed telephone conversation with the captain of the vessel” on Thursday.

“According to him, he feels well. The Russian citizen has been provided with an interpreter and a lawyer, with whom our employees also maintain constant contact,” the embassy wrote, adding that it was in “close contact with the British competent authorities.”

The coastguard said on Thursday that salvage companies boarded the two vessels to carry out initial damage assessments, as the Stena Immaculate remains anchored at the point of the crash and the Solong drifted south of the site.

In an update on Friday, chief coastguard Paddy O’Callaghan said the vessels were “stable”.

“There are now only small periodic pockets of fire on the Solong, which are not causing undue concern. Specialist tugs with firefighting capability remain at both vessels’ locations,” O’Callaghan said adding that there continues to be “no cause for concern” of pollution from the crash.

While the British government has ruled out foul play in the crash, investigators are still examining its causes.

Moreover, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the situation was “reasonably contained” on Thursday.

[Aljazeera]

Millions of people in South Asia celebrated Holi, the Hindu festival of colours, by smearing each other with brightly coloured powder, dancing to festive music and feasting on traditional sweets prepared for the occasion.

The raucous spring festival sees Hindus take part in a kaleidoscopic celebration of the end of winter and the triumph of good over evil. The festival is a national holiday in India, while in Nepal it’s a two-day event that began on Thursday. It’s also observed in other South Asian countries as well as among the Indian diaspora.

Holi has its origins in Hindu mythology and celebrates the divine love between the Hindu god Krishna and his consort Radha, signifying a time of rebirth and rejuvenation.

Across the country, people dressed mostly in all-white clothes celebrated the festival by hurling coloured powder at each other. Children, perched on rooftops and balconies, flung water balloons filled with coloured pigments at passersby.

Groups of young men also used water guns to chase people down in public parks and on the roads, while others danced on the streets to music blaring from speakers.

In some places, people hurled marigolds, roses and jasmine petals instead of coloured powder.

[Aljazeera]