A MASSIVE test of the emergency services was due to take place later today in the English Channel.
Scores of Hampshire fire fighters airlifted to a ferry to fight an imaginary inferno.
The exercise is being staged on the Brittany Ferries ship Mont St Michel and has been organised by the Maritime Incident Response Group to test how crews respond to a major fire aboard a passenger ferry.
Up to 50 firefighters will be flown to the ship from the HM Coastguard station at Lee-on-Solent where they will then be lowered to the vessel with specially designed lightweight equipment.
The test will take place shortly after 3.30pm close to Nab Tower in the Solent off the eastern tip of the Isle of Wight.
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