Body recovered and two rescued after British cargo ship sinks – four people are still missing

A dead body has been recovered and two people have been rescued after two cargo ships collided off the coast of Germany – with a British vessel sinking.

The ships, Polesie and Verity, collided at around 5am about 14 miles southwest of the island of Heligoland, Germany’s Central Command for Maritime Emergencies said.

Seven people were aboard the 91m (300ft) British-flagged Verity, and a search is ongoing for four people who remain missing.

The Verity was heading from Bremen to the English port of Immingham at the time of the incident.

The other ship, the Bahamas-flagged Polesie, was en route from Hamburg to Spain – and remained afloat with 22 people onboard.

Data from MarineTraffic shows that the two ships first come close to each other at around 2.57 UTC (3.57am UK time) and again at 3.45 UTC (4.57am UK time).

The Iona P&O cruise ship – based out of Southampton – was bound for Rotterdam but paused in the vicinity of Verity’s last-known location to help with the rescue effort.

A P&O Cruises spokesperson confirmed its ship is involved in the search and rescue operation.

The spokesperson added: “The incident is ongoing and Iona’s cooperation 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.”

The cruise ship has doctors on board and could treat people if needed, the emergency command said – and more medical personnel are heading to the scene in helicopters.