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Two cargo ships collided in the North Sea off the coast of Germany on Tuesday, with rescue services reporting one person dead and four still missing from the crew of the smaller ship, which is now believed to have sunk.
According to Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies, the incident occurred Tuesday morning approximately 22 kilometers southwest of Helgoland Island and 31 kilometers northeast of Langeoog Island.
The Central Command said that the two freighters involved in the collision were named the Polesie and the Verity, the smaller of the two vessels.
What do we know about the collision?
One dead body was recovered from the collision, whereas two people were rescued, according to the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service (DGzRS).
The search for the four other crew members of the smaller Verity vessel remains ongoing.
Central Command Spokesman Benedikt Spangardt told Taggeschau that they were no longer receiving a signal from the Verity ship, which led them to assume it had sunk.
The British-flagged Verity was en route from Bremen in Germany to Immingham in England.
The collision happened in a very busy area for shipping, a spokesperson for Germany’s Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency said Tuesday.
Several ships searching for those missing
Several vessels — including a cruise ship in the area — and a German navy helicopter are helping in the search and rescue operations.
Meanwhile, the Polesie, registered in the Bahamas, is still afloat with 22 crew members on board. It was traveling from Hamburg to La Coruna in Spain.
Germany’s Transport Minister Volker Wissing expressed his sympathy to crew members, family members and rescue teams.
He said several state apparatuses have come together to rescue the missing, including the DGzRS, the Water Police (WSP), alongside emergency tugs, other helpers and task forces.
Divers were looking for signs of life from the four missing crew members of the Verity, a spokesperson for the Central Command said. The spokesperson added during a press conference that the crew members may be still alive and sheltering inside the vessel on the seafloor.
The Verity was carrying steel and it had 1,300 cubic meters of diesel on board, the spokesperson said.
The search was taking place amid “relatively challenging weather conditions”, DGzRS spokesman Christian Stipeldey said.
“We will not stop the search and rescue operation as long as there is still a small chance of finding survivors,” Stipeldey added.
ss, rmt/ab (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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