STOCKHOLM, Dec 13 — Two sailors were missing today after a Danish cargo ship capsized when it collided with a British vessel off Sweden’s southern coast, officials said.

Nine boats and a rescue helicopter scoured the frigid waters following the early morning crash involving the two cargo ships between the Swedish city of Ystad and the Danish island of Bornholm, the media spokesman at the Swedish Maritime Administration told AFP.

"One of the ships has capsized and is upside down,” Carl-Johan Linde said, adding that two people from that vessel were missing.

Around 10:30 am the maritime authority cancelled the search "at sea” for the missing sailors. The coastguard was towing the capsized Danish ship closer to shore to enable divers to scour the ship.

"We will be diving as if this is a lifesaving operation”, Angelica Anbring with the Swedish Rescue Service told AFP, adding that they were hoping to find an air pocket or something similar.

The British flagged Scot Carrier was headed for the Swedish island of Gotland, while the Danish flagged Karin Hoej was sailing to Denmark, according to Linde.

"The Scot Carrier released a smaller boat and looked for people and they heard screams from the water, but couldn’t find anyone,” Jonas Franzen, communications director at the Swedish Maritime Administration, told AFP.

‘Critical situation’ 

Emma Valhem, spokeswoman for the Swedish Sea Rescue Society, said she did not want to speculate on the chances of finding the sailors alive.

She said with water temperatures around four degrees Celsius this time of year, the "situation is critical, already from the start.” 

Soren Hoj, manager for the Danish shipping company operating the vessel, told AFP there were two people in the crew and they were believed to be the ones missing.

Operations to prevent oil or other hazardous materials from being released into the water were also under way.

"There is currently no ongoing oil spill,” Sweden’s coastguard said in a statement.

Prosecutors have opened an investigation into "gross negligence in sea traffic,” it said.

The waters around Sweden’s southern coast see heavy traffic, as all ships going into the Baltic Sea from the Atlantic need to pass through the strait between Sweden and Denmark.  — AFP