Cargo ship Verity crash - latest: P&O passenger cruise diverted to help in North Sea search after fatal crash
Rescuers are racing to find several missing people
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Rescue divers are searching for signs of life on a British cargo boat that crashed and sank this morning as four sailors remain missing.
One sailor has died and two have been rescued, reveal German authorities.
The four missing crew members may be alive and sheltering inside the vessel on the sea floor, the spokesperson said during a press conference alongside the German maritime search and rescue service.
The ships, Polesie and Verity, collided in the early morning about 14 miles south-west of the island of Helgoland, Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said.
Verity was headed from Bremen, Germany, to the English port of Immingham. The other ship, the Bahamas-flagged Polesie, remained afloat with 22 people on board.
A P&O cruise called the Iona which was travelling from Hamburg is helping with the urgent rescue mission, confirmed officals.
According to reports, passengers were panicked when there was an onboard Captain announcement at 6am this morning.
A spokesperson for P&O Cruises said: “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.”
Watch - Rescuers search for signs of life
ICYMI - what has happened so far
A British cargo ship has sunk off the coast of Germany following a collision, with one sailor announced dead, four remain missing.
The ships, Polesie and Verity, collided in the early morning about 14 nautical miles south-west of the island of Helgoland, Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said.
The British-flagged Verity, apparently sank, while the Polesie remains waterborne with its 22 passengers.
One person was rescued from the water and is being given medical treatment, while rescue parties are searching for several more people who remain unaccounted for.
The search mission involved nine ships, an aircraft, including a German navy helicopter and a P&O cruise line who spent the day scouring the area.
A passenger reveals her horror when the cruise ship intervened
A woman was travelling on the Iona P&O cruise ship headed toward Rotterdam when she was awoken to the captain’s shocking announcement.
The passenger, who does not wish to be identified, described her fear this morning when the news broke.
She said: “When you wake up to muster, muster, muster, you know something tragic is happening outside.
“Shortly after the captain made the announcement we knew it wasn’t the Iona.
“The captain kept us all feeling safe and we all just wanted to help.”
She says as she continues on her trip, she will think of the sailor and prays the others are saved.
According to the cruise goer, the Iona boat left the scene at 2.15pm local time.
The rescue mission so far
A search and rescue operation began after the British-flagged Verity hit a larger cargo ship, Polesie, about 14 miles (22.5km) south-west of the German island of Heligoland at around 5am on Tuesday.
While the larger, Bahamas-flagged Polesie stayed afloat, the Verity, which had departed from Bremen, Germany, and was destined for the port of Immingham on the east coast of England carrying steel coils, became submerged.
Shortly afterwards a signal from the ship was lost, German authorities said, and wreckage was found.
Searches are continuing involving several ships, aircraft, and a P&O cruise ship, with rescuers preparing to dive 98ft (30m) to the wreckage.
Robby Renner, Germany’s head of Central Command for Maritime Emergencies, told a news conference in Cuxhaven it is possible the remaining crew are still alive inside the sunken vessel and that his team is doing “everything humanly possible” to rescue them.
Michael Ippich, of the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service, said the water temperature at the time of collision was 12C (54F), which people can survive for about 20 hours.
Mr Ippich told reporters: “The conditions on the spot are extremely difficult.
“Because of the weather and visibility, it’s incredibly difficult to conduct such an operation.”
A spokesman for P&O Cruises told the PA news agency: “P&O Cruises’ Iona is currently involved in a search and rescue operation off the coast of Germany.”
Where did the Verity go missing?
The ships, Polesie and Verity, collided in the early morning about 22 kilometers (14 miles) southwest of the island of Helgoland, Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said.
Where did the Verity go missing?
The ships, Polesie and Verity, collided in the early morning about 22 kilometers (14 miles) southwest of the island of Helgoland, Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said.
Watch - Rescuers search sunken British ship for signs of life after fatal North Sea collision
Remaining missing sailors ‘could survive for 20 hours'
The remaining missing sailors could survive for 20 hours in 12C waters say the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service.
“We are now doing everything humanly possible to rescue more people alive,” the head of the emergency command, Robby Renner, said at a news conference in Cuxhaven.
Several rescue ships and aircraft taking part in the search had not located the missing crew members by mid-afternoon.
Rescuers were considering the possibility that they were still inside the Verity, and planned to send divers down to the wreck to check whether there are any signs of life, Mr Renner said.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies