Two missing after cargo ship capsizes off Sweden's coast

Stockholm (IANS) Two crew members were missing and a rescue operation was launched after a cargo ship capsized in the Baltic Sea off the south coast of Sweden on Monday.

The accident which occurred at 3.30 a.m. local time (0230 GMT) between the Swedish city of Ystad and the Danish island of Bornholm during foggy conditions, may have been caused by a collision with another vessel, Swedish Television, the national public TV broadcaster, reported on Monday.

According to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, around 10 ships and helicopters from Sweden and Denmark were deployed for the rescue operation, Xinhua news agency reported.

The rescue was launched following an automated alarm from the capsized vessel and the crew had not been found several hours after the accident, Jesper Berthelsen, duty officer of the Danish Armed Forces' Operations Centre, told Danish news agency Ritzau.

"We are searching for two missing, but we do not know whether they are in the ship or the water. We have flown over the site by helicopter many times, but have found nothing but wreckage in the water," Berthelsen said.

The capsized vessel is a 55-meter Danish-registered Karin Hoj. It was not loaded and was sailing from Sodertalje in Sweden to Nykobing Falster in southern Denmark with two people on board.

The other vessel, the 90-meter British-registered Scot Carrier, was en route from Salacgriva in Latvia to Montrose in Britain. The crew is reportedly safe.