Two were missing after ships collided south of Sweden
A spokesman for the Danish Meteorological Institute said there was fog in the area at the time of the accident.
Two people were missing on Monday after two cargo ships collided in water south of Sweden during the early morning hours, the Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) states.
The ship, Karin Hoej, registered in Denmark, capsized and was upside down, said SMA. It had two people on board and they were missing, says the Danish Defense Joint Operations Center (JOC).
The other ship, the British registered one Scot Carrier, was functional and its crew was safe.
“I can confirm that an accident has occurred but I do not know the circumstances”, says Sören Hoj, CEO of the shipping company Rederiet Hoj, which owns Karin Hoej, according to Reuters.
The ship, which was not loaded, sailed from Södertälje in Sweden to Nykobing Falster in southern Denmark with two people on board, he said.
“A major rescue operation is taking place,” Hoj said.
The incident occurred on Swedish territorial waters with the two ships sailing in the same direction when they came in contact, according to the Danish JOC.
A spokesman for the Danish Meteorological Institute said there was fog in the area at the time of the accident.
Denmark’s JOC could not immediately say whether the ships were carrying any dangerous cargo.