Fire breaks out on an oil tanker off Germany's Baltic Sea coast. All 7 crew members are rescued

BERLIN -- A fire broke out on an oil tanker off Germany's Baltic Sea coast on Friday and all seven crew members were rescued, German authorities said.

The German Maritime Search and Rescue Service said it was alerted to the fire on the 73-meter (240-foot) -long German-flagged vessel, the Annika, shortly after 9 a.m. Friday. A rescue boat picked up the crew members about an hour later.

The tanker was carrying about 640 metric tons of oil, according to Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies.

The tanker was northeast of Kuehlungsborn, a seaside resort west of the port city of Rostock. The rescue service said black smoke was visible from the coast.

Three ships were at the scene fighting the fire, and several more firefighting teams were en route to the tanker by helicopter.