Hunt for four missing crew members of cargo ship Verity called off by German coast guard
25 October 2023, 09:21 | Updated: 25 October 2023, 09:42
German authorities have called off the search for four people missing from a cargo ship in the North Sea.
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The British-flagged Verity sank following a collision with a larger vessel yesterday morning.
Two sailors were rescued and the body of another was recovered.
Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said the entire surrounding sea area was searched again through the night with no results, before the mission was eventually called off.
Search efforts on the surface will not be resumed on Wednesday but the emergency command will consider "what measures can be taken around the site of the accident in the course of the day."
Divers searched the water for the four missing crew. It was initially hoped they may be alive and trapped in the vessel on the sea bed.
Emergency divers did "everything humanly possible" in their efforts to find the missing crew members.
Robby Renner, the head of the emergency command, said on Tuesday afternoon: "We haven't found the missing people yet.
"Therefore we have to assume they can still be in the ship. Our rescue operation is in full swing. We are now doing everything humanely possible to rescue more people alive."
It comes after it emerged a P&O cruise ship joined the frantic search for survivors after the Verity collided with cargo ship Polesie at around 3am on Tuesday morning near the German island of Helgoland.
The 300ft ship was carrying steel from Bremen in Germany to Immingham but sank following an impact.
Footage from on board the cruise liner P&O Iona, which left Southampton three days ago for Hamburg, Rotterdam and Bruges in Belgium, shows passengers being given an update that they were ‘involved in a search and rescue operation.’
“We're looking for persons in the water from another vessel that has been involved in an incident earlier this morning,” passengers were told over the tannoy.
Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said previously two sailors had been rescued but the body of one man had been recovered following the incident.
A search and rescue operation began after the British-flagged Verity hit a larger cargo ship, Polesie, about 14 miles south-west of the German island of Heligoland at around 5am on Tuesday.
While the Bahamas-flagged Polesie stayed afloat, the Verity, which had departed from Bremen, Germany, and was destined for the port of Immingham on the east coast of England, sank.
P&O said in a statement: "P&O Cruises' Iona is currently involved in a search and rescue operation off the coast of Germany.
"The incident is ongoing and Iona's co-operation complies with international maritime law as well as being consistent with the company's moral and legal obligations.
"Iona is scheduled to be at sea today and this event should have no impact upon tomorrow's scheduled call to Rotterdam or the onward itinerary."
One passenger on board the Iona told MailOnline: “We are on holiday but this is a very tragic situation. We cannot comprehend how the people involved in the collision must be feeling along with the family of the people who remain missing or have lost their lives.”
“You never know what’s going to happen in the world, we just all hope that the outcome does not become more tragic.”
A spokesman for Associated British Ports, which owns the port of Immingham, confirmed it the vessel was due to arrive there.
Two rescue cruisers, an emergency tug, a pilot boat, a police patrol boat and a helicopter took part in the search efforts.
