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'Four dead' after cargo ship sinks in North Sea | 'Four dead' after cargo ship sinks in North Sea |
(35 minutes later) | |
Four sailors are dead and another seven are missing after a cargo ship sank in the North Sea following a collision. | |
The accident took place off the coast of Belgium and the Netherlands, after the Baltic Ace sailed from Zeebrugge. | The accident took place off the coast of Belgium and the Netherlands, after the Baltic Ace sailed from Zeebrugge. |
Thirteen crew members of the Baltic Ace have been rescued, but seven are still missing in freezing waters. | |
A helicopter with infrared cameras has joined a massive air and sea rescue operation as strong winds and high seas make conditions difficult. | |
Coast Guard spokesman Marcel Oldenburger said several helicopters and two navy patrol ships would continue searching for the remaining seven sailors through the night. | |
Life rafts found | |
The 148-metre (485-foot) Baltic Ace was sailing under a Bahamas flag and carrying cars from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Kotka in Finland. | |
Its 24 crew abandoned ship as it sank quickly after colliding with the Cyprus-registered container ship, the Corvus J, sailing from Grangemouth in Scotland to the Belgian port of Antwerp. | |
The 134-meter Corvus J is said to be badly damaged but not in danger of sinking. All 12 crew members are still on board. | |
The Dutch coastguard said the cause of the collision, which happened at 18:15 GMT some 65 km (40 miles) off the coast of the southern Netherlands, was not yet known. | |
"We have found life rafts, and the people in them are being picked up by helicopters," said spokesman Peter Verburg. | "We have found life rafts, and the people in them are being picked up by helicopters," said spokesman Peter Verburg. |
The shipping lane where the accident happened is one of the busiest in the North Sea, about 100km (60 miles) from Europe's busiest port, Rotterdam. | |
But a spokesman for the port said its activities would not be affected by the collision. | But a spokesman for the port said its activities would not be affected by the collision. |