One dead, four missing following vessel collision in North Sea off Germany

One person is confirmed dead while another four have gone missing after two commercial cargo vessels collided with each other in the North Sea off Germany on Tuesday, October 24.

German authorities said the incident occurred when the UK-flagged Verity (pictured) and the larger Bahamas-registered Polesie collided with each other southwest of the island of Heligoland at around 05:00 local time on Tuesday.

The crews of local rescue boats and a helicopter that deployed to the area subsequently pulled two survivors and one deceased individual out of the water. All three individuals have been identified as crewmembers on Verity.

The four remaining crewmembers of Verity have been declared missing. However, German maritime rescue officials called off the search for the four crewmen on Wednesday, October 25.

Officials said strong currents in the area have been impeding the search effort, prompting them to order its suspension.

No injuries have been reported among the 22 crewmembers on Polesie.

Verity was en route to Immingham in the UK with a cargo of steel after having earlier departed Bremen while Polesie had departed Hamburg with a final destination of La Coruña in Spain.