CHANNEL FERRY REPORTED SINKING OFF BELGIUM The channel ferry Herald of Free Enterprise from the British Townsend Thorensen company was sinking off the Belgian coast tonight with 463 people on board, the Dutch newsagency ANP reported today. An unspecified number of people had fallen into the water, it said, quoting the pilot organisation in this south-western Dutch port city near the Belgian border. It said the vessel had capsized after a collision but gave no more details. Dan Kaakebeen a spokesman for the Dutch salvage firm Smit International told Reuters by telephone from Rotterdam that the vessel was just off the Belgian port of Zeebrugge with 463 passengers and crew when the accident occurred at 1850 GMT. Kaakebeen said the firm had one vessel at the scene and another on its way with divers on board. A spokesman at the port authority of nearby Vlissingen said attempts were being made to pull the vessel into shallow waters. Weather conditions were good with no fog or wind, and there were many other vessels in the area.