Two cargo ships collided off the coast of Germany’s North Sea, killing one and leaving four others missing.

The Verity, a British-flagged vessel that sank after an accident, was rescued by two of its crew members.

Divers are searching for signs of life on the shipwreck on the sea floor, according to the German coastguard.

On Tuesday morning, the Verity collided with the Bahamian Polesie at around 5:00 a.m. local time (03:00 a.m. GMT).

When the Verity collided with the Polesie, which had left Hamburg on its way to La Corua in Spain, it was carrying steel from Bremen in northern Germany to Immingham in Lincolnshire. There were no injuries among the 22 crew members on the Polesie.

Off the coast of Heligoland, a German archipelago in Schleswig-Holstein, the incident occurred.

A German navy helicopter, a water police boat, two sea rescue cruisers, and two sea rescue cruisers from the German maritime search and rescue service participated in the search, according to the rescue service.

According to Robby Renner, head of the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME), the missing people could still be alive on board.

“There is a possibility – and I stress it is a possibility – that they are trapped in the ship’s hull,” he said.

Rescue efforts were hindered by poor visibility and strong currents surrounding the wreck, according to the CCME.

As long as there is still a chance of finding survivors, the search and rescue operation will not be stopped, said a spokesperson for the organization.