A FATHER of five has been named as one of four seamen who vanished on board the British cargo ship that sunk in the North Sea yesterday.
Docenito Paler Jnr, from Tangub City, Philippines, was named by pals as part of the crew who remain unaccounted for since the MV Verity collided with a tanker and sank in the off the coast of Germany.
Filipino Docenito Paler Jnr was named by his friend today
ReutersThe dad-of-five has been named as one of four missing after a British cargo ship sank in the North Sea[/caption]
His friend, James Arnold, told MailOnline today: “We would like to know if he is still alive because he has five children, the youngest being a toddler.
“The sad thing is that before he went on board, his son told him to stay home and not go back to work”.
They added that he was a close friend, and they desperately just wanted to know if he was still alive or trapped inside the ship.
The four who remain missing are believed to have been trapped inside the ship’s hull.
Two other sailors on board the ship were rescued after being found lost at sea and are currently receiving medical aid in Germany.
Another, believed to have been from Ukraine, was confirmed dead.
His body was discovered before noon on Tuesday.
German rescue teams have now called off their search efforts for the remaining four who are believed to be missing at sea.
The rescue mission that was in place to locate the sailors after the devastating crash involved a number of ships and aircrafts.
But the team’s efforts were ultimately fruitless, as they searched through the North Sea’s 10ft waves.
After rescuers said the four missing crew members could potentially be stuck in the ship’s hull, divers dashed down to the bottom of the crash site in an effort to find any signs of life.
However, they were unable to locate any of the sailors.
The 299ft Verity crashed into Bahamas-flagged 623ft Polesie on Tuesday.
The Polesie managed to stay afloat with 22 people on board, who are reportedly uninjured.
The huge search and rescue operation was launched off the coast of Germany after the 5am smash – which happened 14 miles from the archipelago Heligoland.
Emergency services faced brutal 30mph winds and fog as they hunted for the missing people in temperatures as low as 11C.
German rescue services said there were seven people onboard the Verity when it struck the Polesie.
Shortly after signal from Verity was lost, the wreckage was detected at a depth of around 100ft, according to maritime authorities.
Head of the accident command Robby Renner said they would do “everything humanly possible to rescue more people alive”.
The water temperature at the time of the collision was 12C, in which people can survive for about 20 hours.
Chances of surviving in the brutal North Sea depend on the victim’s physical health and whether they have life jackets or cold protection suits.
Chilling GPS footage revealed the moment the Verity collided with the Polesie.
The Polesie could be seen continuing forward before turning around and appearing to steer back over the spot where it struck the British ship.
Marine Traffic show the Polesie near the collision site with its position updating frequently – but the Verity appears to not have sent out a signal since the crash.
A P&O spokesperson told The Sun their cruise ship Iona joined the search for survivors in the North Sea.
They were also providing medical help for anyone in need on board, but the cruiser has since left the crash site.
Volker Wissing, German transport minister, said: “After the collision between two ships off Heligoland, my thoughts are with the crew members and their families.
“I would like to thank the rescue teams who have been on duty since early this morning. They do everything they can to save the missing people.”
Avalon.redThe hull of Polesie was damaged after colliding with Brit cargo ship Verity in the North Sea[/caption]
Four crew members remain missing from the 2,600 tonne Verity that sunk after the crash
P&O cruise ship Iona (pictured) joined the rescue efforts before it was called offSupplied Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
