dpa
Bremen, Germany
The four seamen missing after the collision of two cargo ships in the North Sea off Germany are presumed to be dead, according to the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME).
There is no hope left for the missing, the head of the CCME, Robby Renner, said on Wednesday. Earlier, one seaman was found dead and two others were rescued.
“We managed to save two lives with our combined forces,” Renner said and thanked all the rescue workers.
The accident occurred Tuesday morning at about 5 am (0300 GMT) when the two cargo ships Verity and Polesie collided about 22 kilometres south-west of the island of Helgoland and 31 kilometres north-east of the island of Langeoog.
The accident happened in one of the busiest shipping areas in the world. The circumstances that caused the crash are still unclear. Overnight, rescue workers continued to search the area with ships and helicopters under difficult weather circumstances, but to no avail.
A remote-controlled robot, which was lowered to the wreck of the sunken Verity on Wednesday, also found no bodies.
The authorities are working on issuing a salvage order for the wreck of the Verity. “This means that the authorities are instructing the owner to take remedial action,” said Renner of the CCME.
The order aims to stop the leakage of fuel and potentially salvage the ship. So far, 90 litres of diesel fuel have come to the surface, the CCME said.
