Ferry Captain Dead After Colliding with Cargo Ship

Traffic in the busy Dutch shipping channel, connecting Amsterdam to the Rhine river, was at a halt Friday after a small passenger ferry and a German cargo ship collided.

The 56-year-old captain of the ferry is believed to have been the only person onboard. Local police recovered his body about 15 meters from the overturned ferry.

The ferry continuously runs people back and forth across the 100-meter channel, near Breukelen, north of Utrecht. Friday was a school holiday, so passenger traffic was minimal.

The two crewmen onboard the inland cargo ship were questioned and tested for alcohol, both tested negative.