Two ships collided off the Swedish coast. The Swedish authorities express initial suspicions.
+++ 4.49 p.m.: The situation remains confusing. Two people are still missing after the collision of two ships off the coast of Sweden. Your chances of survival are now rated as very slim. “The water is only four degrees here. The air is five degrees “, Jonas Franzen from the Swedish Coast Guard told the BBC.
Investigations into how the momentous collision could come about are ongoing. According to information from the BBC, the Swedish authorities suspect a case of “gross drunkenness at sea” on board the ship “Scot Carrier”, which sails under the flag of Great Britain *.
Sweden: Two cargo ships collide off the coast
+++ 11.30 a.m.: After the collision of two cargo ships in the Baltic Sea, two people are missing. The accident happened in the middle of the night south of Sweden, announced the Swedish shipping authority on Monday.
A larger freighter from Great Britain collided with a smaller ship from Denmark, which then capsized. The crew of the British freighter heard calls for help from the ice-cold water – “but they have not found anyone”.
The Swedish coast guard immediately started a large-scale search in the accident area between the southern tip of Sweden and the Danish island of Bornholm. Nine ships and a helicopter were involved.
Given a water temperature of four degrees, however, the hope of finding the two missing people still alive fell. They are the crew of the overturned Danish freighter “Karin Høj”. The cause of the collision was initially unclear.
Sweden: Ships collide off the coast
First report from Monday, December 13th, 2021, 11.00 a.m .: Stockholm – According to Swedish media reports, two cargo ships have collided in the Baltic Sea. One of the two ships is lying in the water off the southern Swedish coast, the news agency TT and the broadcasting station SVT reported on Monday. A major search and rescue operation is underway to save people who have fallen into the water. At least two people are said to have gone overboard.
The top priority is now to save human lives, said the spokesman for the Swedish shipping authority Sjöfartsverket, Jonas Franzen, to SVT. According to him, it was a 55-meter-long Danish and a 90-meter-long British ship. There is a risk that the overturned Danish freighter could sink, said Franzen. It is not yet known why the two ships collided.
Sweden: Ships collide off the coast
The accident occurred on Monday night between Ystad in southern Sweden and the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. The Swedish Coast Guard took part in the search for the missing crew members. At the same time, she initiated an environmental rescue operation to prevent oil or other harmful substances from entering the sea. There is currently no oil leak, the coast guard announced on Monday morning. (do with AFP / dpa)
Headline list image: © Johan Nilsson / TT via www.imago-images.de
