BERLIN: One person has died and four are missing from the crew of a cargo ship that sank after colliding with another vessel in the North Sea, German authorities said on Tuesday.

Two further crew members from the ship were rescued after the collision with a second cargo vessel early on Tuesday, German Sea Rescue Society (DGzRS) spokesman Christian Stipeldey said.

The accident happened about 22 kilometres (13 miles) southwest of the island of Helgoland, according to the German Central Command for Maritime Emergencies (CCME). Several ships are currently involved in a rescue operation in the area, the agency said.

The sunken ship was named as the Verity, sailing under a British flag and on its way from Bremen to the UK town of Immingham. The other ship was the Polesie, under a Bahamas flag and travelling from Hamburg to La Coruna in Spain.