Several people are feared to be missing after a British cargo ship sank in the North Sea following a collision with another container vessel off Germany. According to The Telegraph, the ship, Verity was travelling to Lincolnshire from the German city of Bremen when it struck another ship named Polesie near Heligoland on Tuesday morning. The Mirror reported that P&O cruise ship Iona has joined several vessels in the search and one passenger on board claimed that three bodies had been picked up.
Bloomberg mentioned that the UK-listed Verity is much larger than Polesie, which is a Bahamian-flagged cargo ship. A spokeswoman for Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies confirmed the crash.
The emergency command said one person was rescued and was being given medical treatment while and rescuers were searching for several others who were unaccounted for, reported Sky News. The command said the other ship remained afloat with 22 people on board. Meanwhile, a number of German search and rescue vessels are in the area along with two helicopters, the report said citing ship tracking.
As per the report, a passenger named Gary Corbin wrote on Facebook: "Two freighters have collided close by us. Iona has picked up 3 bodies. There are helicopters and rescue ships by us. We are involved in the search and rescue operation Not moving at moment."
Meanwhile, a P&O Cruises spokesperson told The Mirror: "P&O Cruises Iona is currently involved in a search and rescue operation off the coast of Germany. The incident is ongoing and Iona’s cooperation complies with international maritime law as well as being consistent with the company’s moral and legal obligations. Iona is scheduled to be at sea today and this event should have no impact upon tomorrow’s scheduled call to Rotterdam or the onward itinerary."
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