2 cargo ships collides off coast of Germany, 1 sailor dead and 4 missing

Two cargo ships collided in the North Sea off the coast of Germany on Tuesday and one of them apparently sank, German authorities said. One sailor died and four were missing.

The vessels collided around 5 a.m. about 22 kilometres southwest of the island of Helgoland, Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said. The site of the collision was about 31 kilometres northeast of Langeoog island, which is just off the German mainland.

One of the ships the British-flagged Verity, which had seven people on board is believed to have sunk. Two sailors were rescued. The body of one man was recovered, while four were still missing by midday, the emergency command said.

The emergency command said the Verity, which was 91 metres (299 feet) long and 14 metres (46 feet) wide, was headed from Bremen, Germany, to the English port of Immingham.

The other, bigger ship the Bahamas-flagged Polesie remained afloat and had 22 people on board. None of them were believed to be injured. The vessel was heading from Hamburg to A Coruna, Spain. The Polesie is 190 metres (623 feet) long and 29 metres (95 feet) wide.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the collision.

Vessels supporting the rescue effort included a cruise ship, the Iona, that has doctors on board and could treat people if needed, the emergency command said.