Efforts to salvage the British freighter Napoli abandoned by its crew after it was holed and took on water 50 miles off Cornwall yesterday are continuing.

The 26 crewmembers of the 62,000-tonne container ship were rescued by two helicopters from RNAS Culdrose. No-one suffered major injuries.

Tugs were later standing by and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency was discussing the ship's destination with the French. It could still come into Falmouth although a French port was also being discussed.

The freighter was en-route to Sines in Portugal with 2,400 containers on board, some containing pesticides and insecticides, when cracks appeared in the engine room.

A hole appeared on the starboard side of the 900 foot long ship. The crew took to the lifeboat and after an hour helicopters from RNAS Culdrose were on scene.

In rought conditions a diver was put on board and eventually all were winched to safety. Last night they were in two Falmouth hotels recovering.

Officers in command of the rescue at Culdrose said despite storm force winds, the aircraft, from 771 Search and Rescue Squadron, were able to hover above the crew's lifeboat in what were described "pretty horrific" conditions, including swells of up to 30ft.

The mixed nationality crew of the Napoli included two young British cadets, as well as crew members from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Turkey, India and the Philippines.

Late last night a spokesperson from RNAS Culdrose issued the following statement: "On arrival, the helicopter crews found that the ship's seamen were indeed in their lifeboat and initially it was thought that the survivors would remain with the lifeboat as they were safe, though uncomfortable there.

"The seas in the area were forty to fifty feet in height with the lifeboat being thrown about, and Petty Officer Aircrewman Jay O'Donnell was lowered to the lifeboat to assess the situation. After considerable difficulty he got on board the lifeboat and found that conditions there were extremely unpleasant and could become threatening for the survivors. It was then decided to airlift all the survivors into the helicopters for return to dry land.

"In extreme conditions the first 13 crewmembers were winched up into Rescue 194, one of the rescue helicopters, then that helicopter set off for Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose and safety. Rescue 193, the other naval SAR helicopter, then lifted the remaining 13 survivors, including the master of the stricken ship, and it too returned to Culdrose.

"On arrival at Culdrose, all 26seamen were found to be unhurt, though shaken and cold. After warm drinks and some food, dry clothing and some phone calls to their families, the survivors were taken to the Seamans' Mission in Falmouth and later to a local hotel.

"Each Sea King helicopter has a crew of two pilots, an Observer and an Aircrewman, and 771 Naval Air Squadron is on call 24 hours a day responding to emergencies from seafarers or anyone else in danger."

Commenting on the day's events, Commanding Officer of 771 Squadron, Lieutenant Commander Chris Godwin, said: "I am very proud of my crews for conducting a text book rescue in such demanding conditions."