Dutch call off search for missing Pinoy, Indonesian sailors

THE HAGUE - Dutch coast guards late Monday called off a search for three missing sailors, two Filipinos and an Indonesian national, amid fears they may have drowned in the North Sea after their ship sank following a collision with a fishing trawler. "The search operation on the (sea's) surface has been called off. Divers further searched the wreck with a camera but have so far not found any victims," the Dutch coast guard said on its website. "As a result of increased currents, no more diving operations can be undertaken and the dive ship Cerberus has returned to port," the coast guard said shortly before 19:00 pm (1700 GMT). A further decision on the operation would be taken on Tuesday, it added. Two helicopters, rescue ships and trawlers were scrambled when at around 1:30 am (2330 GMT Sunday) the 32-meter Maria, a ship deployed to guard an oil drilling platform about 40 kilometers (24 miles) southwest of the Dutch navy port of Den Helder, collided with fishing trawler Texel 68. Fishermen aboard the Texel 68 said they had seen all five of the Maria's crew on the bridge wearing life jackets immediately after the collision. "Two crew members were rescued but the other three are still missing," coast guard spokesman Peter Westenberg told AFP earlier Monday, adding that they could be trapped inside the boat. The sailors could survive several hours in the North Sea waters, which are still relatively warm at this time of year at around 16 degrees. Two of the missing men are Filipino and the third is from Indonesia, Dutch news agency ANP reported. Westenberg said the cause of the crash was "a mystery". The most serious recent incident off the busy Dutch coast happened in December when a cargo ship collided with the car-carrier Baltic Ace off the port of Rotterdam, killing 11 sailors. — Agence France-Presse