Dutch Harbor Launch Sinks After Colliding With Tanker, Killing One

 

One person has been found dead and one more remains missing after a collision between a tanker and a harbor launch in Amsterdam's harbor, according to local media. 

On Sunday evening, the small water taxi KP 17 got under way from a tanker terminal in Ruigoord, on the western outskirts of the port of Amsterdam. It headed north, its AIS track shows, intending to enter the Noordzeekanal. But when it neared the junction with the busy waterway, it was hit by a tanker, dragged, then sunk at an unknown position, according to local outlet Schuttevaer. 

There were two people on board, both employees of the punt's owner. Both went missing in the sinking, and a large-scale search was launched shortly after. Officials scaled back the effort about 2200 hours, citing the amount of time elapsed and the diminishing likelihood of finding survivors. The National Underwater Search Team and local police divers joined the operation on Monday, and they recovered a body from the water at about 1700 hours that evening, reports NH Nieuws. As of Monday, the authorities were still working to confirm the identity of the victim, according to NL Times. 

Plans are in the works to raise the wreck of the punt, but this will not happen immediately; the authorities believe there are no bodies in it, and are focusing the earch effort elsewhere for now. 

The KP 17 was owned by a water taxi and line-handling company, De Koperen Ploeg ("The Copper Plow"). The firm is a century-old specialist in tendering operations, delivering goods and people to ships throughout the Port of Amsterdam.