A daring rescue mission is set to fly out of Bermuda this morning after an accident on board a tanker in waters east of the Island killed one crew member and injured four, two critically.

Crew aboard the Isle of Man registered liquid gas tanker Johann Schulte were thrown against deck equipment by a massive wave yesterday morning as they were trying to secure one of the ship's anchors, a Harbour Radio spokesman said.

The tanker was enroute from Portugal to Texas.

One man was killed while four others received head wounds and broken limbs.

The spokesman confirmed two H-60 helicopters and two C-130 air-to-air refuelling planes were dispatched to Bermuda by US authorities yesterday after the captain of the 50,000-tonne ship made the crucial call for help, 810 miles east of the Island.

The aircraft landed at the Bermuda Airport around 10 p.m. last night after an eight-hour trip from Moody Air Force Base in Georgia.

According to the Harbour Radio spokesman, air crew rest requirements will not allow the craft to leave before 11 a.m. today.

From here, they will fly to the Johann Schulte . The rescue will likely take around six hours and may be hampered by heavy weather.

The crew members, all Filipino, will be winched off the vessel and flown back to Bermuda, where they will be rushed to hospital.

Meanwhile, another stricken vessel's cries for help, this one a yacht 90 miles east of Bermuda, could mean double time for the joint US Coast Guard/US Air Force mission. The 27-foot yacht Metiche with a crew of four last night reported rigging difficulty and engine failure 90 miles east of us.

DEATH OBT