Eighteen crew members have been rescued after two ships collided during a storm off the coast of the Netherlands.
The Dutch coastguard said they had rescued all people onboard a ship that was left drifting rudderless and had begun taking on water.
The collision in the North Sea happened as Storm Corrie lashed other parts of northern Europe.
The ‘Julietta D’ — a Maltese-registered freighter — collided with another boat around 32 kilometres west of the port of Ijmuiden, said Edward Zwitser, a spokesman for the Royal Dutch Lifeboat Company.
The other boat — an oil tanker named Pechora Star — was also damaged, but was able to continue its voyage, he added.
Three helicopters, including one from Belgium, were involved in the rescue operation.
The powerful winds of Storm Corrie follow Storm Malik, which has killed at least four people and destroyed dozens of houses.
The western Netherlands were hit particularly hard on Monday morning with powerful gusts uprooting trees and causing traffic problems.
