British cargo ship sinks as 'body recovered from water' with four still missing

A British cargo ship has sunk after colliding with another boat in the North Sea off the German coast with a body recovered from the water, two rescued and four still missing, it is confirmed.

The ships, Verity and Polesie, collided in the early morning about 14 miles south-west of the island of Helgoland, Germany's Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said. One of the ships, the British-flagged Verity, sank.

In an update, it stated: "Two people were rescued during the search for the shipwrecked people of the freighter VERITY in the German Bight. Another man could only be rescued dead.

"One rescued person has already been taken to a hospital on land, the other rescued person was brought on board the sea rescue cruiser of the German Sea Rescue Society ((DGzRS)) HERMANN MARWEDE; he is now on the way to a hospital. There were a total of seven people on board the VARITY. Four people are still missing and the search for the missing people is ongoing."

An image of the rescue operation (Facebook)

It is feared the missing people may be still trapped in the hull, and rescuers said they are doing "everything humanly possible" to save them. Dr Robby Renner, head of the accident command said: “We haven’t found the missing people yet. Therefore we have to assume that they can still be in the ship. Our rescue operation is in full swing. We are doing everything humanly possible to save them. We don’t stop even when it gets dark.”

Missing radioactive capsule found after huge search - and it's the size of a pea

It said the ship was headed from Bremen, Germany, to the English port of Immingham, Lincolnshire. The other ship, the Bahamas-flagged Polesie which was heading to La Coruna in Spain, remained afloat with 22 people on board.