Stormy weather has pushed coal freighter Pasha Bulker aground, raising fears it could break apart and leak fuel into the sea.

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- A wild storm that lashed Australia's east coast drove a coal freighter onto a sand bank, raising fears it could break apart and leak fuel into the sea, while six people were missing in flash flooding, police say.

Officials said at least two other freighters among more than 50 off the port of Newcastle, 140 kilometers (90 miles) north of Sydney, could also be in danger with an 8-meter (26-foot) swell and winds up to 80 kph (50 mph) expected to continue or worsen through Saturday.

Near Newcastle, six people traveling in two cars were missing in flood waters as torrential rain and gales cut local power and rail services, New South Wales state police said in a statement Friday.

Two adults and two children were in a car that washed away when a section of road collapsed beneath them, police said.

An elderly couple were lost when their car was washed off a bridge, police said.

The 250-meter-long (820-foot-long) freighter Pasha Bulker had been preparing to collect coal from Newcastle later this month. The storm surge ripped the ship from its moorings and pushed it into a sand bank early Friday, state police said in a statement.

One by one, rescue helicopters airlifted the 21 Filipino crew of the 40,000 ton Pasha Bulker to safety at a nearby park, where paramedics examined them and said they were in good health.

The ship was not carrying any cargo and no one was injured in the incident, but officials said there was some risk of the ship breaking apart, and leaking hundreds of tons of fuel oil and diesel into the sea.

"A response is being coordinated, and contingencies for pollution are being put in place," said New South Wales maritime chief Chris Oxenbould.

Some warned of a potential ecological nightmare.

"We can see a massive disaster here. With the significant tonnage of diesel fuel and fuel oil on board, we could see the entire coastline in that region blanketed with black, tarry slick that will have a huge impact on the environment in the area," said Ian Cohen, a lawmaker with the minority Greens party.

The state's transport minister, Joe Tripodi, said three other coal ships had sent distress calls and were at risk of foundering, with waves up to 17 meters (55 feet) high measured in the area.

"Obviously, their concern is that they'll be washed up," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The three distressed vessels were among 54 ships waiting outside Newcastle to pick up stores of coal bound for power stations in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia.

The port city is one of Australia's largest coal export centers, but loading delays have left long queues of vessels -- sometimes more than 70 ships -- waiting offshore.

Forecasters at the Bureau of Meteorology have warned weather conditions in the area could worsen.

_{Copyright 2007 The Associated Press}

[img width=480 height=307]http://network.news.com.au/image/0,10114,5518140,00.jpg[/img]
The 40,000-tonne Pasha Bulker threatening to break up after running aground at Nobbys Beach, Newcastle. Picture: Jamie Wicks

[img width=480 height=307]http://network.news.com.au/image/0,10114,5517513,00.jpg[/img]
The coal ship Pasha Bulker run aground at Nobbys Beach, Newcastle, with the Westpac rescue helicopter attempting the rescue of the crew. Picture: Liam Driver

[img width=480 height=307]http://network.news.com.au/image/0,10114,5517375,00.jpg[/img]
This television image shows the 30,000-tonne bulk carrier which has run aground off Newcastle.

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Spectators look on at a coal freighter that ran aground in Newcastle. Picture: AP

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Spectators look on as waves batter a coal freighter that ran aground in Newcastle. Picture: AP


Disaster feared as seas pound freighter

WILD weather lashing the east coast has left up to seven people missing, feared drowned, and rescue workers battling to avoid an environmental disaster after a bulk carrier ran aground at Newcastle, north of Sydney.
NSW Premier Morris Iemma last night declared a "natural disaster" in the Hunter and Central Coast regions of the state as it continued to be battered by pounding rains, which dumped up to 75mm in one hour on some towns, and winds of up to 100km/h.

Thousands of houses were flooded, with roads cut off and power supplies lost to at least 60,000 homes.

At Somersby on the NSW central coast, 75km north of Sydney, a car carrying two adults and two children plunged into floodwaters when a section of the Old Pacific Highway collapsed because of the wild weather. A bystander who went to their aid is missing. The car was found some time later, minus the occupants.

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_{©The Australian}