Royal Navy frigate forced to return after sailors fall ill due to contaminated water
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed sailors are being treated after the water onboard became contaminated.
Royal Navy servicemen fly around New York in Tactical Suits
According to reports, the issue was alerted to by one sailor who alerted superiors.
It is not yet clear how many personnel became sick as a result of the contamination.
An official Royal Navy statement said: “We can confirm that HMS PORTLAND has returned to HMNB Portsmouth as a precautionary measure, following an issue with one of the ship’s fresh water systems.
“The health and safety of our personnel is of the utmost importance and we are taking a number of measures to safeguard the ship’s company whilst the issue is investigated.”
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The contamination was confirmed to the Mirror by a Ministry of Defence spokesman.
Furthermore, the MOD added reports of sailors being rushed to hospital were not true.
The spokesman told the Mirror they understood the affected sailors would be treated onboard the HMS Portland.
A source told the Daily Mail sailors had been rushed to Queen Alexander Hospital in Portsmouth.
HMS Portland departed from port on January 7; the exact cause of the failure in the ship’s fresh-water system is not yet known.