Rescuers called off a search for survivors from a capsized cargo ship in icy waters off the Norwegian coast yesterday, leaving most of the 18 seamen trapped inside the hull presumed dead.
The confirmed death toll rose to three after one more body was found early yesterday. Another 15 of the mainly Filipino crew are believed dead a day after the unexplained North Sea accident in a shallow fjord a short distance from shore.
Twelve survived - three miraculously after being trapped for almost seven hours inside the hull of the upturned vessel MS Rocknes near the western port of Bergen. Of the dead, 16 were Filipinos, one was German and one Norwegian, all aged between 26 and 56 years, police said.
"We consider that there is no longer a possibility of finding more survivors," said Mr Erik Walle, spokesman for rescue services "We are now starting to look for the bodies."
Late on Monday, the trapped men had been heard knocking and shouting from inside, prompting rescuers to cut a hole in the hull. Crew members passed scribbled notes through a small opening, one reading: "Hurry up, my friend is dying."
"There is not enough oxygen left inside the wreck for anyone to breathe," said Mr Guttorm Brattebo, head of emergency services at the Haukeland hospital which treated survivors for hypothermia and minor injuries.
He said the three last survivors had been on duty in the engine room and had desperately watched the water rising inside the vessel as they waited to be rescued.
The cargo ship's Norwegian owners, Jebsen Management AS, said the cause of the accident was not known. Witnesses said there were large gashes on the hull, indicating the ship might have run aground, shifting the cargo and causing the vessel to list. - (Reuters)