2 dead, 2 missing after vessels collide near Dutch island

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A water taxi and a ferry collided on the Wadden Sea near the northwestern Dutch island of Terschelling early Friday, leaving two people dead and two missing, emergency services said.

The ferry was carrying 27 passengers and crew while there were eight people on board the smaller water taxi, who were thrown into the water by the collision, authorities said. The people on board the ferry were taken to the mainland port of Harlingen, 115 kilometers (71 miles) north of Amsterdam.

“Everybody is searching for the missing people,” spokesman Jan Willem Zwart of the Friesland Security Region said in a telephone interview.

The collision that happened around 7;15 a.m. (0515 GMT) also left four other people injured, said Zwart.

It was not immediately clear why the two vessels collided. Zwart said police had detained both captains as part of their investigation, which is standard practice in such situations.