Two ships collide in North Sea as storms lash Europe

Rescue helicopters evacuate 18 crew members from vessel as Storm Corrie lashes northern Europe

Rescue helicopters have evacuated all 18 crew members from a ship left drifting rudderless off the Dutch North Sea coast after it collided with another ship during Storm Corrie (Henning Bagger/Ritzau Scanpix/Reuters)

Rescue helicopters evacuated all 18 crew members from a ship left drifting rudderless off the Dutch North Sea coast after it collided with another ship during Storm Corrie.

The collision happened as the powerful storm lashed parts of northern Europe.

It came after Storm Malik killed at least four people over the weekend, destroying houses, unleashing flooding and leaving thousands of households without electricity.

A freighter named the Julietta D collided with another boat about 20 miles west of the port of Ijmuiden, according to Edward Zwitser, a spokesman for the Royal Dutch Lifeboat Company.

The other boat, the Pechora Star, was also damaged but managed to continue its voyage.

The Dutch coastguard said all crew members were rescued from Julietta D as the vessel drifted in a wind turbine park.

Three helicopters, including one from Belgium, were involved in the rescue operation, which took place during powerful winds on Monday.

Mr Zwitser said Juliette D suffered damage “that poses direct danger for the 18 crew on board”.

Both ships had been anchored off the coast, but the Julietta D’s anchor “did not hold”, the coastguard said.

Thousands of homes in the Nordic region remained without power Monday and there were reports of flooding in North Sea and Baltic Sea harbours in the region.

The western Netherlands were hard hit Monday morning with powerful gusts uprooting trees and causing traffic problems.

Storm Corrie also hit Scotland late Sunday, hot on the heels of Storm Malik, which left thousands in Scotland and northern England without power as it blew down trees, damaged power lines and ripped roofs off homes.

A nine-year-old boy in the English county of Staffordshire and a 60-year-old woman in the Scottish city of Aberdeen died after trees were torn down on Saturday.

Also over the weekend, Danish media reported that a 78-year-old woman died from severe injuries after falling in strong winds.

In neighbouring Germany, local media reported that a man was killed on Saturday after being hit by a billboard that was loosened by the storm.

Additional reporting by Associated Press