A British cargo ship has sunk after it collided with another vessel in the North Sea off the German coast this morning, with several people still missing as rescuers desperately search for survivors.
British-flagged vessel Verity collided with another cargo ship Polesie at around 5am this morning about 14 miles southwest of the German island of Helgoland, Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said.
The 300ft vessel, which was on its way from Bremen in Germany to the British port of Immingham, sank following the impact and rescuers have launched a desperate mission to find several people who are missing.
The P&O cruise ship Iona, which left Southampton three days ago for Hamburg, Rotterdam and Bruges in Belgium, has now joined in the search. The emergency command said the victims can receive medical care on board the cruise ship.
One person has already been rescued from the water and was being given medical treatment, the emergency command said, adding that their search for several more is continuing. But that search is being hampered by 30mph winds and 10ft waves.
The other ship, the Bahamas-flagged Polesie that had left Hamburg for La Coruna in Spain, remained afloat with 22 people on board after the collision.
The P&O cruise ship Iona, which can hold 5,200 holidaymakers and 1,800 crew, has joined several vessels in the search, including sea rescue cruisers 'Hermann Marwede' and 'Bernhard Gruben'.
Two rescue cruisers, an emergency tug, a pilot boat, a police patrol boat and a helicopter are helping with the search.
A helicopter is also involved in the search as well as an emergency tug, a pilot boat and a police patrol boat, reports Bild. The German emergency command said it also has a sensor aircraft flying over the sea in order to obtain more information on the whereabouts of Verity.