Ship sinks off Dutch coast, 4 dead, 7 crew missing

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) - Four crew members died and seven were missing in the icy waters of the North Sea, after a cargo ship collided with another vessel and sank off the Dutch coast on Wednesday night, rescuers said.

"We can confirm that four bodies have been found, along with 13 people rescued alive," said Coast Guard spokesman Marcel Oldenburger.

He said a massive air and sea rescue operation involving several helicopters, two navy patrol ships and even one of the ships involved in the collision would continue through the night in an effort to find the remaining seven sailors.

Another Coast Guard spokesman, Mr Peter Verburg, said in the early hours of Thursday that the search was carrying on even though "the chance of finding anyone alive now is virtually zero." "We are doing all we can, but time is overtaking us," he said.