Iceland volcano eruption: Navy armada ready to pick up stranded Britons
Three of the Royal Navy’s most illustrious ships are to spearhead a dramatic operation to rescue 150,000 Britons stranded abroad by the volcanic ash crisis.After a meeting of emergency planning committee Cobra in Whitehall this morning, Gordon Brown revealed the aircraft carriers HMS Ark Royal and HMS Ocean will be made available for the massive relief effort.
A third Royal Navy vessel, HMS Albion, is already on its way to Spain to pick up troops and ‘may be able to be of help’, the Prime Minister said.
Mr Brown also announced that Spain’s Madrid airport, which remains clear of the ash cloud, is likely to be used as a hub for stranded Britons returning from Asia, Africa and the U.S. Travellers could then be ferried by bus and train to Spanish and Channel ports, to be picked up by the Navy ships.
