The maritime emergency authorities said on Tuesday that after two freighters collided in the North Sea off the coast of Germany, one dead has been found, two people have been rescued, and four people are still missing.
The Verity, which the Central Command for Maritime Emergencies reported had sunk, had seven crew members on board and was travelling from Bremen to the English town of Immingham. From Hamburg, the Polesie was travelling to La Coruna, Spain.
A spokesperson indicated during a news conference that the four missing crew members might still be alive and taking refuge within the submerged ship, adding that a team of divers was searching for signs of life.
According to the spokeswoman, the Verity was transporting steel and had 1,300 cubic metres of diesel on board. Around three in the morning (local time), the ship and the Polesie crashed around 22 kilometres (12 nautical miles) southwest of Germany’s Heligoland archipelago.
The central command reported that the 22 passengers aboard the Polesie were all unharmed. On board the German maritime rescue cruiser Hermann Marwede, one of the two men who had been saved had been sent to a hospital on land, and the other was en route.
According to a P&O Cruises representative, a cruise ship owned by the firm took part in the search effort. Authorities reported severe gusts in the area and waves of up to three metres.
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