THE HAGUE, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- A cargo ship sank on Wednesday after a collision in the North Sea near the coast of Zeeland, with four crew members found dead and seven missing.
The Dutch coast guard reported on Thursday morning that the search for the seven missing crew members was suspended around 2:00 a.m. in the night. The search might be continued in daylight.
Thirteen crew members have been rescued. Four rescued crew members were transported to the Erasmus Hospital in Rotterdam, while seven others were moved to the Koksijde airbase near the Belgian town Ostend.
The rescue operation was hampered by high waves on the North Sea and a strong wind. Two helicopters, three lifeboats, two Dutch navy ships and other ships nearby were looking for drowning crew members.
The collision occurred about 75 km from the coast of the Dutch province of Zeeland. The ship which sank was the car freighter Baltic Ace, sailing under the flag of the Bahamas.
Around 19:15 local time on Wednesday it clashed on container ship Corvus J from Cyprus which was hardly damaged. The cause of the clash is yet unknown. The collision had no effect on the port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe.
The 148-metre Baltic Ace, which carried cars, had left the Belgian town of Zeebrugge on Wednesday and the destination was Kotka in Finland. The 134-meter Corvus J was on the move from Grangemouth in Scotland to Antwerp.
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