LOST AT SEA
Hope lost for 4 missing sailors on Brit cargo ship that sunk after crash with tanker as last ditch search abandoned
Rescuers faced brutal 30mph winds, 10ft waves and fog as they hunted for missing crew
A LAST ditch attempt to find four missing sailors who disappeared when a British cargo ship sank in the North Sea has been abandoned.
Hope appears lost for the crew members after one died when the 299ft Verity crashed into Bahamas-flagged 623ft Polesie on Tuesday.
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A huge search and rescue operation was launched off the coast of Germany after the 5am smash - which happened 14 miles from the archipelago Heligoland.
Emergency services faced brutal 30mph winds, 10ft waves and fog as they hunted for the missing people in temperatures as low as 11C.
German rescue services said there were seven people onboard the Verity when it struck the Polesie.
One crew member was found dead and two others were rescued - while another four are still missing.
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Shortly after signal from Verity was lost, the wreckage was detected at a depth of around 100ft, according to maritime authorities.
Head of the accident command Robby Renner said they would do "everything humanly possible to rescue more people alive".
Renner said there was a chance the missing crew were "trapped in the hull" and divers were sent down to scour the wreckage.
But the search and rescue effort was called off on Wednesday night as the weather worsened, the German coastguard said.
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Officials said "numerous operational resources" desperately combed the area before the search was suspended.
"The search for the four missing sailors from the sunken 'Verity' was stopped on Wednesday night," it said.
"The surface search will not be resumed today.
"The incident command will decide in the morning what measures can be taken around the accident site during the day. "
Two men rescued earlier were both taken to hospital after receiving treatment on rescue ships.
The water temperature at the time of the collision was 12C, in which people can survive for about 20 hours.
Chances of surviving in the brutal North Sea depend on the victim's physical health and whether they have life jackets or cold protection suits.
Chilling GPS footage revealed the moment the Verity collided with the Polesie.
The Polesie could be seen continuing forward before turning around and appearing to steer back over the spot where it struck the British ship.
the Polesie near the collision site with its position updating frequently - but the Verity appears to not have sent out a signal since the crash.
A P&O spokesperson told The Sun their cruise ship Iona joined the search for survivors in the North Sea.
They were also providing medical help for anyone in need on board, but the cruiser has since left the crash site.
Brit passengers aboard P&O cruiser Iona were awoken 45 minutes later by a PA system announcement revealing its crew was helping to locate missing people.
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Shop worker Rhys Johnson, 24, from Hampshire, told The Sun: “There were helicopters, search vessels and two of our RHIBs helping.
“We set off for Rotterdam from Hamburg yesterday, and we were about 200 metres away from the ships. It’s incredibly distressing.
“Everyone on here is sad and concerned and in a state of panic.”
A spokesman for P&O Cruises said: "The incident is ongoing and Iona's co-operation complies with international maritime law as well as being consistent with the company's moral and legal obligations."
Several other rescue vessels and a German navy helicopter are also at the scene assisting in the mission to locate the crew.
The Verity and Polesie collided roughly 14 miles off the southern coast of Heligoland, Germany - it remains unclear how the collision unfolded.
The Polesie managed to stay afloat with 22 people on board, who are reportedly uninjured.
Heligoland operates as Germany's central command for maritime emergencies, where the rescue ship Hermann Marwede was sent out from to coordinate the search.
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Volker Wissing, German transport minister, said: "After the collision between two ships off Heligoland, my thoughts are with the crew members and their families.
"I would like to thank the rescue teams who have been on duty since early this morning. They do everything they can to save the missing people."
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