Norway: A freight vessel capsized off southwestern Norway yesterday with a mainly Filipino crew and at least two seamen were killed and 18 were missing in chilly waters, Norwegian rescue officials said.
Boats and helicopters picked up nine survivors and were scouring the sea around the upturned vessel Rocknes near the western port of Bergen, a spokeswoman for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre for southern Norway said.
"There are nine persons registered at the hospital, two dead and 18 still missing," the spokeswoman Ms Cecilie Watne said.
Coastguard ships and other vessels in the area were taking part in the rescue efforts.
Ms Watne said that about 15 ships were in the area assisting the rescue mission which included four helicopters.
The ship capsized only a few hundred metres from shore.
Ms Watne said rescuers were trying to stabilise the ship but would not enter the vessel until they had been successful.
She said the crew comprised 23 seamen from the Philippines, three from the Netherlands, two from Norway and one from Germany.
Officials had not yet confirmed the nationalities of the dead crew members.
The Norwegian news agency NTB said the Rocknes was a 166-metre (544 foot) cargo vessel owned by Jebsen Management AS that was carrying rock to Germany.
It said there were fears that some survivors were trapped inside the upturned hull.
NTB quoted one rescue official as saying that loud, banging noises were heard from the hull, but Ms Watne said she could not confirm that.
It was not clear what had caused it to capsize.
Mr Odd Kjaergaard, an eye witness, who was looking out his window with binoculars when the ship tipped over, said on Norwegian television: "While I was looking, it all of a sudden capsized in a matter of seconds. Rescue personnel were there a minute later."
"I saw one man being rescued, incredibly enough he had managed to get on top of the hull," he said.
- (Reuters)